Trust
by wispykitty
Summary: Two families are about to be torn apart due to illness, and two players will be pushed to their limits - both physically and emotionally. Families will be torn apart, and friendships will be tested.
1. A Problem Presented X Houseguest

**Title** Trust  
**Characters** Tatsuya, Shige, Kojima, Katsuro, Seiji, Souichiro Kirihara, Mariko Mizuno, Yuriko Mizuno (others will appear briefly, and Sho will appear via e-mails between he and characters)  
**Summary** Two families are about to be torn apart due to illness, and two players are about to be pushed to their limits – physically and emotionally. Friendships will suffer, and families will be tested.  
**Author Notes** This takes place a few months after volume 24 – so the main crop of characters are now in their third year of junior high, and Sho is currently in Germany where he's doing rehab on his knee. I have decided to take some artistic liberties with Musashinomori. It's not just a private junior high – there is also a senior high school portion as well. Every student who is at the school on a sports team lives in the athletics dormitory – irregardless of age. Also, the senior soccer team coach decided to retire right before the start of the new school year, so Kirihara is currently filling in that role until the school hires a new coach for the senior boys.  
I also wanted to mention one more thing – I have decided to not use any Japanese honorifics in my writing (san, kun, senpai, etc). Seeing Japanese words used in English language stories has always bothered me, so I'm not doing it myself.

* * *

"Coach Kirihara? I was wondering if I might have a word with you," Katsuro Shibusawa stood in the office doorway, determined to get through this without flinching or appearing weak. If he had to leave, he wanted to leave with respect.

The older man looked up from his papers, his eyes falling on the backup keeper for the senior boys soccer team. Something about Shibusawa looked a little off today, and it set him wondering what the problem was. He'd always respected that about the keeper – the boy never backed down from admitting his opinion, and he never kept his thoughts secret. He had a way of expressing disagreement without being disrespectful. It was a skill he sorely wished the boy would pass on to his teammates. "Of course, come in," he gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

Katsuro entered the room with his head held high, his back straight, and his face set with a determined expression. He sat down and didn't hesitate before launching into his story. "I don't believe I will be able to play for this school anymore. There are problems at home, and those problems will impact my ability to stay here." He didn't bother explaining right away – Coach would either accept his decision, knowing that he'd thought it through, or he would ask for an explanation. Katsuro wasn't sure which option he wanted more right now. As much as he liked to believe that he was important to Musashinomori, and as much as he wanted Coach Kirihara to demand an explanation before accepting his decision, he didn't want to have to explain his situation. It was hard enough thinking about it on his own.

Of all the things the coach had expected his favourite player to say, this had not been on the list. He was quiet for a moment, contemplating the boy. Katsuro Shibusawa was not the type to make rash decisions. Even though Souichiro was thinking of the team (and his job) he was also thinking of the boy, and was concerned about his situation. "Could you please explain to me what this problem is?" If it were anyone else on the team, he probably wouldn't be going about this question so diplomatically. This boy was deserving of his respect, though, so he was prepared to give it.

Katsuro braced himself for the need to answer, hoping he could get through the words without showing too much emotion. "I have a younger sister, Coach, and she has fallen very ill. Due to some unfortunate circumstances regarding my parents, they are unable to pay her medical bills. As my sister's health is more important than my education, I have spoken with my parents and am prepared to leave the school so my tuition money may be used on my sister."

Coach Kirihara looked at the boy quizzically, his thoughts racing. He knew the parents, the boy's father was a very wealthy businessman who could have afforded anything. There must be some other problem he had neglected to mention. He would not pry too deeply, though. Not yet. "That is unnecessary, the school offers tuition programs for students, and with your grades and athletic contributions, you would qualify for full scholarship coverage." He was silent a moment, studying the boy sitting in front of him. There was definitely something else he was not telling him. "I know you are aware of the scholarships, Katsuro. Is there something else that impedes your ability to remain here?"

He'd feared this would come up, and there was no easy way to say it. How much would the coach question? How few details could he give and still have his answer accepted? "Even with the money saved from not paying my tuition, there is still not enough to cover my sister's bills. Though I still wish to continue my studies, I must also work when possible to help my parents pay for everything. I cannot possibly have a part-time job and keep up with everything here. I also did not think the school would allow me to work."

The coach nodded when the full truth was revealed – something was definitely going on with the boy's father. Perhaps he'd fallen into troubles with a debtor? His business had been self-built after all, if he recalled correctly. But that was all of little importance to him right now. Would he be willing to help this boy out further? While he was correct, and the school's board of governors would not allow for students to work outside of the school, they could be persuaded to allow special cases. He would plead for Katsuro, if the boy agreed. "There are options for you, Katsuro. You are right, this is a special case, and will require special permissions to be granted. I am willing to help you achieve this, because I believe in your ability. Will you accept my help?"

Katsuro almost didn't believe the offer when he heard it. Special permissions? He knew right away that it would prove to be an extremely tough struggle on his part to balance school with family matters. But could it be done? Did he have it within himself to fight for his future? "I am interested in hearing more, and I appreciate your willingness to help me."

The older man smiled and felt a tiny flare of affection for the boy. When things got hard, he was not going to settle on taking the easiest path. He would not run from the problems, but tackle them head on. He would do all he could to help him. "Good. For now I will inform the board that we must put you on scholarship access straightaway. I will speak with the dean of the school, and this time tomorrow we will meet again to discuss your full options."

Katsuro nodded, glad that he might not have to give up everything he'd fought hard to attain at the school. He was a little surprised at the willingness of the coach to help him, but then again, Coach Kirihara had never been as hard on him as he'd been on the others. Katsuro knew it was because of the way he conducted himself, because of his hard work and maturity, his respect for his elders, and his willingness to take on responsibility and keep his life in control. He rose from his chair, sensing that they were through. "Thank you, Coach Kirihara. I would like to offer you thanks on behalf of my parents, as they will no doubt be grateful to you for any help you are able to provide me with," he bowed his head in respect.

Kirihara smiled and stood up, clapping the boy lightly on the shoulder. "It would be a waste for you to leave the school, Katsuro, because of a situation you have no control over. Your willingness to put your family before your own future shows a strong maturity about you, an enviable respect for those surrounding you, an indispensable sense of selflessness, and those are all things we cannot afford to lose. You are an exemplary role model for your peers, Katsuro." With that he bowed his own head, indicating the boy was free to leave. He watched him go, and finally a look of worry creased his brow. He would have to find out what the deal was with the boy's father. Some problems could be dealt with, while others were simply not worth getting involved in. He hoped the boy's family would not prove to be too detrimental to the situation.

The older man moved out from behind his desk, walking over to close his door. He stood behind it for a moment, closing his eyes. He could not lose Katsuro. He had an unusual bond with the boy, an unusual understanding. Not once in his years coaching him had he ever felt the need to reprimand him, or lecture him. Katsuro had always been respectful, diligent, and hard working. He was a master both on and off the field, commanding his teammates with an unequaled respect.

Katsuro was everything he'd wanted his own son to be, and if Tatsuya was going to continue to reject his offers of peace, then Kirihara simply could not stand to lose the only boy who was truly like a son to him now. No, Katsuro could simply not be allowed to leave Musashinomori. He would do whatever it took to ensure the boy remained.

* * *

"_Hey Sho,_

_How is your rehab going? We all miss you a lot, training just isn't the same. Good news on that though – Shige has decided to stay in Tokyo! He said he had a lengthy discussion with his father, and after explaining to him that he felt he owed it to the rest of Josui to remain here for now his father agreed. Can you imagine that conversation? It's still strange to think of Shige having a serious discussion with anyone, let alone his father._

_I'm certainly not complaining, although I may start to in the coming weeks. You see, I talked it over with my mother, and he's actually staying here with us. My aunt Takako has moved to Hong Kong for a job, and my other aunt Yuriko will probably be away a lot this year. Mom always liked Shige anyway, so now he's here living with us. It's pretty cool so far. We've been talking a lot about things, mostly about our families._

_It's kind of strange. When we first became friends, we never talked about our families at all. We both knew there were problems, but I guess we were so used to never having anyone to talk to about them that we just never bothered. I always felt more comfortable around him though, so I guess it's not too surprising that we're talking now. I guess playing against each other at the tournament made us realize how much more we enjoy playing with each other. He just reads me so well on the field, the same way you did. It really is a shame you're not here. I honestly believe we have a strong chance of actually going far in the tournament this year. We could even beat Musashinomori, I bet._

_But that's enough about me, how are you? Have you had a chance to see your friend yet? Ryoichi, I think? I know you were looking forward to seeing him again, so I hope you've had the chance. I also hope you're working hard at your recovery. I know it's going to be tough, but you can do it. You can do anything, after all._

_Well that's all I have to say for now. Make sure you write me back and keep me updated on your progress. Don't ever give up on it, you'll be better soon._

_Your friend,_

_Tatsuya"_

After reading over the e-mail a few times (and being shocked every time at how open he was regarding the situation with Shige), Tatsuya sent the e-mail off to his friend. He hadn't lied – it was strange, being at practice without the short boy around. He'd been worried at first, before Shige had made the decision to stay in Tokyo. How would they possibly manage without those two? How would he manage without them, his two best friends? It had been a slightly depressing thought at first, having to go on playing without the two people he enjoyed playing with the most.

"Tatsu-bon, let's go, I'm getting anxious sitting around and doing nothing," Shige appeared suddenly, leaning against the frame of his door. Tatsuya looked up at his friend, still a little shocked that Shige had actually accepted his mother's offer to stay with them. He watched as Shige's expression turned from one of boredom to an amused smirk. "Are you ever going to stop looking at me like that? I know it's exciting for you to have me around all the time, but you're starting to weird me out," Shige grinned as he saw the other boy blush.

"You're an idiot, Shige." Tatsuya turned off his computer screen before getting up. "I just e-mailed Sho, I told him that you're staying here."

Shige suddenly stood up straight, the grin softening a bit more into a smile. "How's he doing? I should probably send him one too, I keep putting it off."

"He's doing well, I think. He said he was starting his rehab today, so I asked him how it was going," Tatsuya grabbed his training jacket from the hook on his door, pulling it on as he followed his best friend down the stairs.

"Good, the sooner he's able to walk properly again, the better for him."

Tatsuya poked his head into the living room where his mother was sitting, watching a television program. "Mom, Shige and I are going for a run. Do you need us to pick anything up while we're out?"

She glanced at him and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe you could stop at the grocery store and pick up something quick for dinner? I feel pretty tired, I don't know if I'll feel up to cooking anything while you boys are out, sorry."

Tatsuya nodded, going to her purse to take some money. "Do you need me to pick anything up for you? Some medication or something?" His mother had not been feeling well for a few days, and it was starting to worry him a little.

"No dear, I'll be fine. I'm sure this will pass soon, don't you worry." She waved him off, but not before calling him over for a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for worrying about me, dear, but I'm fine. Go have fun with Shige, and let me get some rest."

"Ha," Shige laughed sarcastically from the door, "If running every night is your son's idea of fun, Mariko, then he's been a very deprived child," he grinned and laughed as Tatsuya rolled his eyes at his comment.

"Well then, Shige, be a darling and introduce him to exciting things, would you?"

Tatsuya blushed while being ganged up on. "Mom! Don't encourage him."

Shige laid an arm around Tatsuya's shoulders and guided him from the room. "I will!" They headed for the door, and were soon standing outside in the crisp evening air. "Alright, you heard your mom."

Tatsuya shoved away from Shige and started stretching. "You know part of the deal of you staying here is that you have to train with me, so don't even start."

Shige grinned and joined Tatsuya, "Oh come on, you know I'm joking. Besides, I could run you into the ground any day of the week."

Tatsuya looked over at the other boy, not amused. "Maybe when it comes to sprinting, but I'll murder you in long distance." He grinned slightly, as he began rotating his ankles.

"Like hell you will! I'm not losing to you at anything," Shige followed suit, and soon they were nearly ready to begin their evening run.

Tatsuya looked back at the house, seeing the lights from the television program brightening up the living room. "Shige, do you think she's really okay?"

Shige glanced at his friend, looking a little pensive. "Your mom? I'm sure she's fine, Tatsuya."

The other boy looked worried, frowning slightly. "I don't know, I've never seen her sick before. It just seems weird, that all she does is sit around all day. She's never been like this."

Shige moved a little closer to him, able to hear the worry in his friend's voice. While Mariko Mizuno's health did seem a bit fragile these days, there were many explanations for it, and frankly Tatsuya had a habit of making mountains out of molehills. "Well of course she hasn't, if she's never been sick. I'm sure it's just a little virus, she'll be over it soon. Don't worry about her," Shige slung his arm back around the other boy's shoulders.

Tatsuya sighed and nodded. He did have a habit of worrying about things too much. Besides, if his mother really was that sick, she'd go and see her doctor, and he'd make her better. He needed to trust that his mother would take care of herself, instead of worrying about her so much.


	2. A Solution Presented X Friendly Banter

**Author Notes**: Alright so go figure, after I posted chapter 1 I managed to find a scanlated chapter from volume 24 that clarified a few questions I had. There really IS a high school portion of Musashinomori! Wonderful. However, not that it was obvious yet, but I had to change the time line of my story a bit. Originally I had it starting in May, but now it's starting in September. Oh the woes of not having that last volume yet! Irregardless, it's September, and the boys have just started their second term of school. The fall soccer tournament is coming up soon, so I've actually had to create even more chapters than I had originally written. That's what I get for being a stickler for details. :)

Anyway, for now enjoy!

* * *

"So, provided you are able to maintain an A average, and perform to standard with the soccer club, you will be provided with a full scholarship. We will also make an allowance for you to work a part-time job, as well you will be granted time on a daily basis to visit with your family," the older man paused, leaning forward and staring intently at the boy seated before him. This was a highly unusual situation, and if it hadn't been for the persistent argument made for him by Kirihara, he actually would have said no in the beginning. He didn't believe any fifteen year old boy possible of handling all this.

"This is going to be a very hard and trying time for you, Katsuro. Are you sure you are able and willing to handle this?"

Katsuro stared into the face of the school dean, his expression respectful but defiant. "Yes, sir. Coach Kirihara and I have discussed it at length, and I have been thinking about it for some time already. I am committed to my family, both at home and here at Musashinomori. I am also committed to my future. I will be able to handle this, and I cannot thank you enough for giving me this opportunity."

The old man smiled, sitting back and nodding his head. "That is good. Let me also be clear on one thing, Katsuro. We also expect that your behaviour be exemplary to the other students, that includes both in class and on the soccer pitch. If you engage in any problematic situations, then your scholarship will be rescinded immediately. Am I clear?" The boy nodded, promising perfect behaviour. "Of course, I expect no problems, since your record has been immaculate since your arrival at the school. Well then, I believe that covers everything. You are free to go." With that the old man stood up, extending a hand to the boy. Katsuro took it, his grip strong and confident.

"Thank you, sir. I will not let you and the school down." He smiled politely and bowed to his elder before turning to depart. Once in the hallway he allowed his smile to spread into one a bit less contained, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. It would be very hard, juggling everything. But he was willing to make it work. He had no choice but to make it work.

He wished he could leave the school to go see his family at the hospital, and wished he'd thought to ask for permission. He could always call, but it had been a few days since he'd seen his family and he was especially desperate to see his little sister, Nanami. His mother said she was getting weaker with each passing day, and kept asking to see him. The guilt was beginning to eat at him, wishing he could be there for her more. But things were going to change, now. Soon, once everything got sorted out, he'd be able to see more of her.

"Hey, captain!"

Katsuro knew that voice well and turned upon hearing it, fixing his grin on Seiji. "To answer your question, yes I get to stay."

"Awesome! I told you they'd say yes!" Seiji reached his friend and excitedly embraced him in a hug. "You're too valuable for them to lose. Probably worried you'd go to a rival school," he winked at Katsuro and moved back from him.

The older boy grinned and laughed, in an unusually good mood. "Who knows? I don't really care why they made an exception for me. I'm just happy they're giving me the chance to stay."

"Going to be a lot of hard work though, huh? I certainly don't envy you one bit," Seiji gave an unusually sombre response.

Katsuro just smiled. "Yeah, well you can help out by staying out of trouble, and keeping everyone else out of trouble."

Seiji frowned and punched his arm lightly, before grinning. "I guess I shouldn't take offense to that, since you usually do end up yelling at everyone half the time. So I solemnly vow to help you keep everyone in line. Including myself," he threw an arm around his friend's waist and started pulling him in the direction of their dorm. "Now come on, let's go celebrate!"

"Sure, I just need to call my mom first, tell her the good news."

Seiji swatted his arm, "I'm sure your mother will be so proud of her little boy," he couldn't help but tease his older friend.

"Shut up, Seiji. Didn't you just promise me you'd behave?" Katsuro wasn't really annoyed, of course. He didn't mind Seiji teasing him.

"Oh come on! You mean I can't tease you? You're going to need someone around to lighten your mood," Seiji grinned.

Katsuro just smiled, glad for Seiji's presence. "You lighten the mood without even saying anything, Seiji." He really did mean that comment – there was a certain presence about the boy that had you smiling the second he walked into a room. He knew he'd be counting on that a lot over the course of the coming year.

"Aw, thanks Captain," Seiji smiled and tightened his arm around Katsuro a little. In truth he was relieved the older boy had been allowed to stay on, as Seiji considered him to be his closest friend. Even though Katsuro was on the senior squad now, Seiji still would have been a little lost without his older friend's guidance.

"No problem, Seiji. So, how are the new guys working out on the team?" He hadn't had a chance to check out the junior team yet this year, even though they trained in close proximity.

Seiji shrugged, "It's alright. I miss having you around, though. Kasai just doesn't have the same control over everyone that you did." Though he got along well with the team's new captain, the boy really didn't possess Katsuro's ability to command respect from his peers. Seiji knew it wasn't the easiest job in the world, being the captain of a junior high boys' soccer team, but it could be done. Katsuro had proven that.

The older boy smiled, a grin on his face. "Poor guy, I certainly hope you're helping him out?" A part of him had been expecting Seiji to take over as team captain this year, but he wasn't too surprised when it had gone to someone else. As much as everyone liked Seiji and actually did listen to him, Katsuro knew that his friend wasn't the type of person who enjoyed taking responsibility for others.

"Oh of course! Just the other day, Shigeru was being a little too distracting while Kasai was going over plays, so I took care of him." Seiji grinned, and Katsuro knew that grin well enough to guess what the other boy had done.

"Let me guess? He got a ball to the head?"

Seiji laughed and nodded. "How did you guess? I think I shot it a little too hard, though. He kept missing passes for the rest of practice." Though he tried to sound sympathetic and guilty, the grin on the younger boy's face had not disappeared.

Katsuro grinned and ruffled Seiji's hair. "Despite what you might say, Seiji, I think you'd make a great captain." The boys laughed and continued on their way back to the dorms.

* * *

"How on earth do you two exist together at home without killing each other?" Kojima shook her head in amusement as she watched her two friends bickering.

"The funny thing is, we don't really bicker at home," Shige glanced at the girl, grinning slightly.

"Yeah, but only because it's part of the rules of the house, no bickering allowed or you have to sleep outside with the dog," Tatsuya grinned and locked his eyes on Shige.

"Sounds like a smart rule," Kojima mentioned to Tatsuya, her amused expression falling on Shige.

"Hey, why do I get the feeling the two of you are going to gang up on me any second now?" Shige attempted to look hurt, but his friends saw through it.

"Don't pout, Shige." Tatsuya shook his head slightly.

"Yeah, it makes you look like a girl," Kojima finished the sentiment, grinning wickedly as Shige's expression turned sour.

He stuck his tongue out at her, running his hand through his freshly bleached hair. "Don't hate on me because I'm prettier than you are, Kojima," now it was his turn to look amused as she frowned.

"It doesn't matter, I can still kick your ass, pretty boy," she smirked and leaned back against the wall, her legs stretched out before her. She made a fist, cracking each knuckle of her left hand systematically.

Shige laughed and waved her off, "Ha, you wish. I could take you out while blindfolded, with one hand tied behind my back."

"You feel like putting a wager on that, Goldilocks?"

"I don't know, I don't think it would be good for my reputation if everyone hears that I beat up a girl, even if it is manly little you."

"Manly?! I am not manly, you punk!"

"Oh no? Would boyish be a better term?"

"I prefer assertive and aggressive, thank you very much!"

As the two continued bickering, Tatsuya just sat between them, grinning as they went on. He held up a hand suddenly to interrupt them. "Sorry Shige, but I'd put my money on Kojima." He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back at him, while Shige was left rolling his eyes.

"Traitor! You're supposed to be on my side," Shige frowned at Tatsuya, though he was really amused. Seeing Tatsuya engage in friendly banter was a nice change from the quiet and serious moodiness of the year before.

"I guess he has better taste now, sorry," Kojima grinned and winked at Shige. "Anyway, I think I should get going to class. I'll see you guys at lunch," she looked from Shige to Tatsuya, her smile widening just a bit for the latter. The boys watched her get up and grab her bag, heading down the hall and turning to wave at them.

Once she was gone Shige moved a bit closer to Tatsuya, a wicked grin on his face. He looked purposefully at his friend, but didn't say anything. Tatsuya raised an eyebrow at Shige's reaction, confused by it. "What are you doing?" He backed away a little as Shige leaned in closer.

"You have a thing for Kojima, don't you?" He loved teasing Tatsuya about girls. For some reason, even though Tatsuya had a fan base that no one else could touch, he never seemed comfortable around girls, except for Kojima, of course. He practically blushed any time he talked to anyone else – if he even gave them the time of day, of course.

"I do not!" He should have known!

Shige sat back and laughed, "Oh come on, I can tell. You take her side all the time, Tatsu-bon. That's okay, though. Kojima's cool, I approve of her." He couldn't help himself, teasing Tatsuya was entirely too much fun.

The other boy glared at him and folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, shut up!" He didn't know why Shige always persisted in teasing him about girls. He and Kojima were friends, that was all! Sure, almost any other girl made him uncomfortable, but Kojima was different because she wasn't like any other girl. Talking to her was kind of like talking to a guy, except that she was really pretty, of course. But just because he thought she was pretty, that didn't mean he liked her! Did it?

Shige just sat back and grinned. He wasn't really sure if Tatsuya liked Kojima that way, but he was pretty sure that Kojima liked Tatsuya. He could tell from the way her eyes were when she talked to him. He thought that they would make a good match, but he wasn't about to play Cupid. That wasn't his style. "Come on, Tatsu-bon, let's get to class."

Tatsuya sighed and stood up, walking beside Shige down the hall. He was happy that he had his friend around more, but sometimes the older boy wore on his nerves. But as he watched Shige walk down the hall with his bag slung over his shoulder, winking at a few girls who stood together and whispered while watching them, he couldn't help but smile a little. Having Shige around was good for him, after all. Tatsuya had been living inside his own little shell for the past few years, never really opening up to anyone. He hadn't even realized it until the golden haired boy had come along. Shige managed to get him to open up more, and because of it he was already on better terms with his teammates than ever before. He still wouldn't go so far as to say that he considered them all good friends, but he was working on it.


	3. Responsible Seiji X Osaka vs Kyoto

"Did you have any success?" Seiji looked up from his science textbook when he heard his door open, expecting it to be Katsuro.

The older boy nodded, looking relieved. "It's not the best job in the world, but at least it's not at the fish market, I don't think I could take the smell," he walked over to Seiji's bed and sat down.

"Yeah, neither could we! So where is it?" Seiji put his book to the side, not even bothering to index the page he'd been on – he hadn't been able to concentrate anyway.

"It's a shipping dock, I'll be helping them load and unload cargo, mostly electronics. I don't think he was going to give it to me at first, due to my age, but when he saw how strong I was, he told me I could start tomorrow," Katsuro grinned and couldn't help but feel elated. He had expected that it would be harder to find something, but luckily Coach Kirihara had a few connections.

"Awesome! It'll help keep you in shape, so that's a good thing. Plus, if you happen to see any laptops fall out of a box," Seiji winked at him, "you can feel free to bring one back for me!"

Katsuro swatted him on the leg. "Seiji! I haven't even started yet and you want me to steal a laptop for you already?" He knew the other boy wasn't serious, but he played along anyway.

Seiji just grinned and shrugged. "My parents won't buy me one, they think I'll spend too much time watching soccer on-line."

"Yeah, I'm sure soccer is what you'd be looking at on-line," Katsuro teased him, unable to help it.

Seiji frowned at the comment, but couldn't hold it for long before he was grinning again. "Ah, you know me so well, Captain. So what hours are you working?"

"Seven to ten every night, unless I have a test or game the next day, then I get the night off. I'll get one full eight hour shift on the weekend, too, and then one day off to make sure I'm caught up on school work. It'll be enough to help out with my sister, at least. I was lucky the guy is a friend of Coach's, he really helped to negotiate me a good wage."

"He was helping you look? I guess you really must be his favourite," Seiji grinned again, looking amused.

"You never realized that before? Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one on the team he actually likes!" Katsuro wasn't even joking – there were times when Coach Kirihara treated the team horribly, but he always managed to give the captain a comment to ensure that he wasn't in the line of fire.

"Yeah, yeah, we all know you're like the son he doesn't have anymore!" Seiji meant the comment in a joking manner. In truth he'd found it was quite sad that the coach and Tatsuya hated one another. Though he had problems sometimes with his own father, he could never imagine actually hating him. And even though he liked Tatsuya and considered him to be a friend, he had to admit that the other boy could be ridiculously hard-headed and stubborn, just like his father.

Katsuro frowned at the comment, knowing that there was probably more truth to it then Seiji realized. He found the situation even sadder, since he had actually known Tatsuya for a while. They'd been fairly good friends, since his parents lived on the same street as the Mizuno family. They'd spent a lot of time playing together before he'd joined Musashinomori. He'd been excited when he heard Tatsuya was going to take the entrance exam – but that excitement had deflated when he learned that his friend had only done it to prove to his father that he could (and it had been even more confusing to him since he hadn't known at that point that his very own coach was his friend's father). They'd still maintained somewhat of a friendship when Tatsuya went to Josui instead, but they didn't see each other that often. Katsuro still wished things had been different – having Tatsuya here would have made their strong team that much stronger.

But he couldn't spend time wishing for the past to fix itself. Instead he just smiled at Seiji's comment, but didn't say anything. He wondered if Tatsuya would be angry if he found out that his father had helped him find a job? Would he understand?

~*~*~*~*~*~

He finally made it back to his bedroom at ten thirty – he'd had to stay late to finish some paperwork since it was his first night. The job itself wasn't too bad, the men he worked with seemed alright and no one had bothered him. In fact, no one had even really talked to him much, but he was okay with that. After all – he wasn't there to talk, he was there to work. And speaking of the work...

He sat down on his bed, ready to pass out from exhaustion. Of course, it had been a long day, and he hadn't slept too well the night before. His head had been too rammed full of thoughts. He didn't worry about sleeping tonight, though. He knew he'd be out the second his head hit the pillow. But first he had to make sure everything was set for tomorrow, that all of his work was done. He couldn't afford to slip up after his first day, even though he'd been given a week's worth of a grace period to get used to his new schedule.

So he moved to his desk, checking his scheduled classes, and then checking that he'd finished his work and done his readings. It took him a bit longer than usual (since he kept forgetting what subject he was checking) but he finally finished. He got up then and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, leaving his room to head for the bathroom. He entered the room and was surprised to find Seiji there.

"Well talk about timing," he would have said more, but was cut off by a yawn.

Seiji grinned and shook his head. "I see they're working you hard already, huh?" He had just finished brushing his teeth from the looks of it.

Katsuro nodded while applying toothpaste to his toothbrush. "Yeah, I didn't sleep very well last night though, so I think that's why I'm so tired. I hope I'm not like this every night or I won't be able to get anything done." He stood in front of one of the sinks and began brushing his teeth.

Seiji was silent while his friend brushed, not wanting to bother him with conversation. He also hoped Katsuro wouldn't be this tired every night. He had to be able to deal with his busy schedule, because Seiji didn't want him to have to leave. He didn't think he could handle losing his best friend.

When he finally finished Katsuro stood up and stared at himself in the mirror, surprised at how tired he looked. He hoped he really would sleep as well as he needed to tonight, because he wouldn't be able to function after a few days like this otherwise. "Well, I'm ready for bed. Sorry I don't feel like talking, I'll tell you more about my job during breakfast tomorrow if you can manage to wake up on time," Katsuro grinned and headed for the door, holding it for Seiji.

"Ha ha, funny. I'll be up extra early to make sure you don't sleep in," Seiji nudged his friend on his way out of the bathroom. They stood together for a moment in the hallway outside their rooms, and Seiji once again got that serious look on his face. "I really do hope this all works out for you, Captain. I don't want you to have to leave," Seiji wished he hadn't made that last comment – it sounded a little too desperate.

Katsuro just smiled and looked grateful, though, and Seiji breathed a sigh of relief. "I just mean, who would I have to hang out with if you're gone? The other guys are cool and all, but I think they'd get on my nerves after a while."

Katsuro grinned and patted the younger boy on the shoulder. "I think you'd be the one getting on their nerves, Seiji." He couldn't help but tease him, though he did appreciate knowing that he would be missed.

Seiji frowned, looking a little annoyed at the joke at his expense. "Yeah well, get a good sleep tonight so you're not a zombie tomorrow."

Katsuro grinned even wider at Seiji's displeasure over his joke. "Hey, I'd miss you too if I left, you know. You're my best friend, Seiji. I'm lucky to have you."

Seiji's frown immediately disappeared, replaced by a very sheepish smile. "Thanks, it's nice to know that." He couldn't help but feel a little tingle running through his body at Katsuro's comments – he'd always thought of the older boy as his best friend, and it was nice to finally hear that Katsuro felt the same way. "Now go and get to sleep! I'll make sure you're up for breakfast," Seiji grinned.

Katsuro smiled at him and walked into his bedroom, leaving Seiji alone in the hall for a moment. He entered his room and immediately went for his alarm clock, setting it for seven in the morning. Usually he slept in as late as he could, only getting out of bed when Katsuro would yell at him and threaten extra laps at soccer practice later. But every time he emerged from his bedroom, his hair barely combed into place, Katsuro would always be standing there waiting for him, juice and a bowl of rice and natto in his hands.

Tomorrow would be different. Tomorrow he would be the one waiting with the food.

* * *

"How could he miss that?!" Shige punched the couch in frustration, shaking his head. "I could have scored with that pass! You could have scored with that pass!"

Tatsuya fixed his friend with an annoyed look, "Are you insinuating that I can't shoot as well as you?"

Shige frowned, "No! I'm insinuating that both of us can shoot better than Endo! They should have left him at Yokohama," he slumped back into the couch, annoyed. Kyoto Sanga were currently playing Gamba Osaka in a match, and it wasn't going well for the Kyoto club.

Tatsuya grinned, "Why are you getting so pissed off, I thought you didn't even support Kyoto anyway, even though you should since that's where you're from."

"I don't!" Shige grinned back at him, choosing to ignore the home town jab (he was used to hearing it by now), "I just don't support crappy players getting professional contracts." Both boys laughed and returned their attention to the TV screen. This was one thing Shige loved about staying with Tatsuya – the temple didn't have any TVs, so he hadn't been able to watch any soccer. Now he was able to watch any game that was broadcast, including his beloved Kashima Antlers. That sometimes created havoc, though, as Tatsuya supported Urawa Red Diamonds, and any time a match occurred between the two, it got messy between the boys.

Of course, it didn't help matters that Tatsuya's preferred team were currently floundering near the bottom of the league this year, while Shige's favourites were sitting comfortably in the top half. They couldn't even agree on an outcome for this game – Tatsuya was hoping to see Kyoto win, because Gamba Osaka were currently tied for thirteenth place with them. Shige, however, wanted to see Osaka win because that would keep Kyoto further down in the table, since they were currently only four points off of Kashima's spot.

"Boys, keep it down, Mariko's sleeping," Yuriko Mizuno appeared suddenly in the door, looking annoyed.

"Sorry, aunt Yuriko," Tatsuya apologized, feeling bad. In his enjoyment of the game, he'd forgotten that his mother was in her room asleep. It was going on a week and a half now that her energy was slowly slipping away every day, and Tatsuya was still worried. But his mother was stubbornly refusing a doctor, and no one was making her go.

Yuriko smiled and entered the room, sitting on an armchair near them. "How's the game going, anyway?" She held a bottle of Sapporo in her hand, taking a sip from it and looking at the television.

Shige grinned at Tatsuya before turning to the young woman. "Not good for Kyoto, they just missed the third sure goal in ten minutes."

Yuriko frowned and shook her head. She actually did support the Kyoto team, though she wasn't able to watch games as frequently anymore due to her job. "That's so typical of this team."

"Yeah, you should support a real team for a change!" Shige joked with her, not having any trouble at all conversing with Tatsuya's aunt. He was glad that she was the one who was still around, since he didn't like the other sister as much.

"Shut up, brat! Only glory hunters support Kashima, especially when they're not even from the region!" she winked at him.

Shige shrugged and grinned, "I never pretended to be anything but a glory hunter." They both laughed and resumed watching the game. Shige suddenly made another comment. "But speaking of supporting teams when you're not even from the region, doesn't that make you an even bigger loser for supporting Kyoto? I mean, they're not even a good club!"

"She only supports Kyoto because of a guy she dated in high school," Tatsuya grinned and offered the response.

"That's a lie!" Yuriko looked outraged, glaring at the two boys before taking a sip from her bottle of beer. "I dated him in my first year of university." The three of them laughed, and at that point the Osaka team managed to score a second goal, which caused Shige to jump up out of his seat.

"Did you see that? What a beautiful goal! Oguro is a god among men!" In reality, the goal hadn't been that spectacular – it had actually been a weak shot that managed to sneak in because the keeper had screwed up so badly. But Shige was intent to praise it just to piss the other two off.

Both Tatsuya and Yuriko fixed the golden haired boy with hateful glares, but refrained from saying anything. At the end of the first half, Yuriko got up and bid them a good night, as it was time for her to leave for her job teaching a late night class at the fashion school.

Shige watched her leave, waiting until he heard the door click before turning to Tatsuya. "Have I mentioned that I love your aunt, despite her crappy taste in soccer clubs?" He grinned and knew it would annoy his friend.

Tatsuya shook his head and leaned back against the couch. "Only every day. I think she's a little too old for you, though."

Shige waved the comment off, "So you say. You know some older women prefer dating young guys," he wasn't really serious, of course, he was just bugging Tatsuya.

"Ew, Shige, that's my aunt you're talking about! Stop it." The last thing he wanted to picture was his best friend and his aunt together. Sometimes Shige was a little disturbing.

"Oh come on, I'm just bugging you. Hey you should make yourself useful during the break and go make me something to eat, I'm hungry." As if on cue, Shige's stomach rumbled. He looked at Tatsuya with a hopeful smile, though he expected to be told to make his own food.

"Go make it yourself! You're not a guest anymore, you know where everything is." Tatsuya frowned and kicked at Shige's leg. He was so lazy!

Shige frowned and pulled his leg up, rubbing the spot Tatsuya had just kicked. "Oh come on, I'm weak from not eating! I can't stand on my own!"

Tatsuya just shook his head and stood up. "Stop being overly dramatic and make us both something to eat," he grinned down at him and made for the door. "I'm going to check on my mom."

Shige sighed dramatically and stood up, resigned to having to fend for himself in the kitchen. "Are you sure you want to trust me to make your food? I'm not good at cooking, you know." That was a lie – while he wasn't a masterful chef, he could manage most dishes well enough.

Tatsuya knew that as well, looking back at him with raised eyebrows. "You can cook perfectly well, stop being lazy! Hurry up before the game starts again, you don't want to miss it." With that comment he left, softly walking down the hall towards his mother's bedroom. The door was closed and he listened at it for a moment, before knocking softly and opening it a fraction.

His mother was asleep, so Tatsuya entered the room. He stood by the side of her bed, staring down at her. Even though he couldn't see her well, he was certain that she looked worse than usual. He didn't think she was eating much, and she had already been skinny enough to begin with. Her face seemed to have lost the soft touch of youth about it, and it now started to look old and tired. It was kind of scary, really, to see her like this. After all, when he looked at her now, it reminded him of his grandmother, before she'd passed away.

He knelt down beside the bed, his hand brushing the hair off her forehead and feeling her skin. She didn't have a fever at least, and she didn't feel cold. So what was wrong with her? Maybe if she wasn't better by the weekend, he would ask her to go and see a doctor. Two weeks of being exhausted wasn't normal, not when she was usually pretty full of energy.

He leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead before standing up and leaving the room, closing her door back over. He really hoped she wasn't seriously ill. He didn't think he'd able to handle it if anything happened to her. It had been tough enough losing his grandmother, but he was even closer to his mom. He made his way to the kitchen, standing by the doorway and quietly watching as Shige fried egg noodles over the stove. He was dicing up some beef too and Tatsuya couldn't help but smile a little.

Shige was actually turning out to be a pretty big help around the place since he'd moved in. He always did what anyone asked him without complaining (at least not seriously), and even took his turn cooking dinner for everyone. He did get along especially well with Yuriko, which didn't really surprise Tatsuya, since they were quite similar in personality. Living at the temple had made him pretty independent, something that Tatsuya was actually a little jealous of. Growing up with four women in the house who doted on you (even if they teased the life out of you while doing it) had made him a little dependent on them to do everything for him.

"I know you're over there watching me! Stop wasting time and come and get me the teriyaki sauce, Tatsu-bon!" Shige called to him from the stove. Tatsuya grinned and moved to get the ordered ingredient to the meal, telling himself that he needed to stop worrying. His mom would be fine, and everything would be alright. There was no sense worrying about things that hadn't happened yet.

**Just a note: I know Tatsuya's grandmother was still alive in the manga, but I've decided to kill her off for my story. You'll see why later!


	4. Mother Hen Seiji X Teasing Tatsuya

"Hey, Katsuro!"

A poke in his arm made the sleepy-eyed boy sit up straight and look around, momentarily confused. He realized he was in math class, and he mentally berated himself. Had he actually fallen asleep?!

"You okay? In all the years I've known you, I've never seen you fall asleep in class before," Akira Mikami sounded amused, though he was honestly slightly concerned. Seiji had cornered him this morning in the cafeteria and asked him to keep an eye on their friend during the day. Seiji seemed to think that Katsuro's schedule was getting to him. Akira had agreed, though not before teasing Seiji for being a mother hen. The younger boy had brushed the comment off, telling Akira that if Katsuro was having the slightest sign of trouble in any classes, that he would consider Akira to be responsible for helping him out.

He smiled now, thinking back on it. It wasn't like Seiji to be so worried about other people. Usually he was the one everyone else on the team had to look out for. But he'd promised Seiji that he'd keep an eye on Katsuro, and he was now starting to see why Seiji was concerned. He'd never seen Katsuro so tired before.

"I'm fine, thanks." The keeper shook his head slightly, trying to focus on his math textbook. The numbers were swimming in front of his eyes, though, and he had to look away. He'd gotten in late last night (two hours late, to be precise) so they could finish their load at the dock. Three guys had called in sick, so the rest of them had had to pick up the slack. He knew he could have left earlier due to the compromise his boss had agreed to on his behalf, but he didn't want preferential treatment. Besides, he didn't mind the extra money. But couple that with having to stay up late to finish some work for his English class, and he hadn't gotten to sleep until after one in the morning. He'd had a five o'clock wake up call for soccer training this morning (which he had completely forgotten about and would have missed if Seiji hadn't woken him up) and he was feeling the effects of it now.

Akira had a feeling that his friend wasn't really fine, but he wasn't about to pester him like Seiji. He'd respect his situation, but still keep an eye on him. "Well, make sure you stay awake. But if you happen to fall asleep again, I'll wake you up. And I'll let you copy my notes later too." Akira grinned and winked at his friend, who looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." He managed to remain awake for the rest of the class, though he found it a little hard. He knew it was just the tediousness of math that was making it hard – looking down and concentrating on small numbers was hard enough to do when fully energized, after all. Soon enough the class ended and it was time for lunch. He stood up, taking a moment to stretch his arms over his head.

"Let's go get some food into you, maybe that'll help," Akira grinned and nudged him in the side.

Katsuro grinned back and followed his friend out of the room. "Thanks again for waking me up. Not sure how I managed to fall asleep without Nuruni noticing, but good thing you did first." Their math teacher was notorious for requiring his students to pay full attention all the time, and was known for noticing sleeping students.

"He probably did. Maybe Coach asked everyone to go easy on you for a while until you adjust," Akira suggested. He figured that was probably true. Coach Kirihara always seemed to be able to fix favours for his favourite player.

"I'm sure he wouldn't have gone that far, Akira." Katsuro shook his head, wondering if everyone thought the coach favoured him. It wasn't that bad, was it?

Akira laughed, walking into the cafeteria and taking a spot in the line. "Are you kidding me? Of course he would have."

Katsuro frowned, not bothering to reply. He was already getting special treatment – he didn't want any more. He didn't have long to contemplate his thoughts before a figure squeezed itself into the line between he and Akira.

"Sorry for butting in line! This is important business!" Seiji smiled apologetically at the line of boys behind him, looking at Katsuro and grinning. "Heh, the perks of being an athletic prodigy never get old."

Akira grinned and shook his head. "You're horrible, Seiji. Crafty, but still horrible."

Katsuro frowned at his friend. "Seiji, you shouldn't be cutting in line, it's disrespectful and impolite. You're no more important than anyone else in the school."

Seiji just grinned, used to being reprimanded for doing thoughtless things every now and then. "Oh come on, I wouldn't have done that if you two hadn't been standing here! I just wanted to come and check up on you." He smiled innocently at Katsuro, knowing that the older boy wouldn't buy his excuse (nor would he even consider it an excuse) but knowing that it wouldn't be held against him.

Katsuro knew better than to continue scolding his friend since it never did any good, so he gave up. "How's your morning been?"

Seiji shrugged and fiddled with his shirt button. "Eh, boring really. It would have been cool, because we had biology, and Shigeru and me were lab partners! But then he got kicked out for dissecting our frog without waiting for our teacher to explain what we were doing. So I had to do it by myself." Seiji frowned. He was lucky he hadn't gotten thrown out of class too, since he had been watching Shigeru doing the dissecting and had been laughing.

"You were lucky you didn't get thrown out of class too, Seiji!" Katsuro had guessed at what had happened, imagining the two with the frog.

"Whoa, I was just thinking that in my head! It's like you read my mind," Seiji grinned and moved closer to Akira when he saw Katsuro's eyes narrow. "Please don't hurt me, I promise I'll be better behaved this afternoon!"

Akira laughed and studied the menu for today's lunch selection. "Who do you guys have for biology? I don't recall Masami being so strict last year."

"Because he's not here anymore! We have some new guy, Chen. Chinese guy, his accent is strange! Makes it kind of hard to understand what he says." Seiji had been looking forward to the relaxed Masami for his class, and had been sad to find out the older man had retired.

"Oh that sucks. Masami probably would have had everyone crowd around your desk and comment on Shigeru's dissecting style."

"It's better off that they have someone who actually keeps some kind of order in class," Katsuro butted in to the conversation.

Akira grinned at Seiji following Katsuro's outburst. "Says the guys who fell asleep in math class forty minutes ago."

Seiji laughed upon hearing the news. "No kidding, huh? I had to wake him up for soccer practice this morning, you know. Seems someone forgot to set their alarm." Seiji winked at Katsuro, hoping his friend wouldn't mind having his secret revealed. When Katsuro just frowned and looked away from the pair of them, Seiji grinned in victory. "So, what's for lunch today?"

"It's pasta day, Seiji! There's even a cheese and ground beef dish I think you'll like," Akira grinned and waited for the response. Seiji loved cheese and beef.

"Oh is there? Really? That's awesome!" Seiji's eyes lit up – they'd served the dish two weeks ago and he'd managed to charm the lunch lady into giving him seconds and thirds. Of course he'd paid for it during the afternoon (and they'd had an early soccer team practice, so that had made it even worse) but it had definitely been worth it. Today though, he thought he'd just stick to seconds.

Katsuro also looked over at the menu, though he oddly didn't feel too hungry. He just wanted to sleep. How was he possibly going to get through the afternoon? Maybe he should have gone back to his room for a nap instead of getting food. He hadn't, though, because he knew that the right thing for him to do was to eat lunch. Even though he might not feel hungry, the energy from the food would wake him up a little.

The three of them moved up to order, taking their food and wandering off to find a table. They found Seiya sitting alone and joined him. Katsuro didn't bother getting involved in the conversation, he just sat silently beside Seiji and concentrated on eating his lunch. He'd decided to go for the pesto chicken linguine, and it wasn't too bad.

They were soon joined by Shigeru, who came over to the table and sat on Seiji's other side. The two third year boys soon began discussing their frog dissection, and Katsuro felt compelled to reprimand Shigeru for causing trouble in class, but he was too tired to be bothered.

Suddenly he felt Seiji leaning in close to him, and soon the other boy was whispering in his ear. "Are you okay? You haven't said a word to Shigeru about biology and I thought for sure you'd be jumping out of your seat to tell him to respect his teachers a little more," though Seiji was concerned, he made the comment with a touch of amusement in his tone of voice.

"I'm fine, Seiji. Just tired, I got in late last night."

"I know, I heard you come in." Seiji grinned, hoping Katsuro wouldn't be upset with him.

"Hold on, were you waiting up for me, Seiji?" Katsuro turned to look at his friend, noting his slightly sheepish smile.

Seiji nodded and laughed a little. "I was a little worried when ten thirty passed and you weren't back yet. So I left my door open a little to listen for you. It's okay though, I had an essay to work on anyway."

Katsuro was still surprised at the act, though he thought it was awfully decent of Seiji to do. He smiled and was about to return to his food when another thought struck him. "Wait, so if you stayed up that late, then how on earth did you manage to wake up in time for practice this morning? And wake me up too?" He was surprised he hadn't thought of that yet – usually he had to drag Seiji out of bed for their early morning practices. The other boy usually refused to physically get out of bed on his own if it was earlier than seven in the morning.

Again Seiji just smiled. "Well, I knew you must have been really tired after working late, so I thought I'd drag myself out of bed extra early to make sure you woke up on time." He hadn't been joking about it being extra early – he'd set his alarm for four o'clock instead of five, knowing it would take him an hour of repeatedly hitting the snooze button before he could manage to get up.

Katsuro grinned and shook his head. Seiji just kept surprising him this year. "Well, thanks, Seiji. I appreciate the help. Hopefully though I can get used to this schedule so you can start sleeping in again and we can get back to normal." He winked at the other boy before turning back to his lunch.

Seiji just grinned and didn't bother responding. While he did miss being the one that had to be dragged out of bed, he found it surprising that he didn't really mind having to be the responsible one who woke up early to ensure Katsuro could get to where he needed to be. That was what being a good friend was all about, after all.

_hey pochi! sorry i havent written you earlier but you know im lazy haha. tatsubon tells me you have started rehab. thats good news! i hope its going well for you, dont give up! youre a tough kid, and soon you will be back and beating us all again. and yes its true im staying with mister uptight himself, but i think hes happy to have me around, even if he refuses to admit it! hes not as anally retentive when im here all the time. you would be shocked pochi! he actually makes jokes and laughs now! its a shocking transformation and i take all the credit! i also think he might like kojima but dont tell him i told you. he would probably hurt me in my sleep, haha. you should see them, they smile at each other all the time. its kind of gross and sometimes it makes me feel like throwing up. but he seems happier so im happier too! kojima is cool anyway, she would make a good match for him. i think he needs a girlfriend with a lot of balls, and i dont mean soccer balls pochi!! dont tell him i said that either. ;)_

_well pochi i hope you are well and i look forward to hearing about your rehab! we are supposed to have our first training session with the national team soon. i am excited but i think tatsubon is nervous. dont worry about him though. i will take care of him in my own way haha! _

_goodbye for now pochi!! work hard!! but have fun too!!_

_shige_

Shige grinned and sent the e-mail off, snickering to himself and hoping that Sho would indeed keep his mouth shut about everything he said. He hadn't been joking when he'd mentioned Tatsuya hurting him in his sleep!

"What are you laughing about?"

Shige turned around, looking up at Yuriko, who was leaning against the door frame to the office. He grinned at her, trusting in her ability to conspire against Tatsuya with him. "I was just e-mailing a friend of ours, telling him all about Tatsuya's new girlfriend." He knew the second the words left his mouth that he'd be sleeping with one eye open all week, but he didn't mind. Telling Sho was one thing, but telling Yuriko was something completely different that hadn't even crossed his mind until now. He knew she'd harass the hell out of her nephew.

"What?! Girlfriend?! Tell me more!" She came into the office and shut the door, sitting on the couch next to him. "Come on, out with the details! He's in the kitchen doing dishes, so he won't bother us."

Shige grinned, amused with his decision. "Well, see it's this girl he's been friends with for a while now, actually I think she's the only girl he's friends with. You know, I was actually starting to wonder if he was, you know..." Shige could barely contain his laughter – this was fun!

Yuriko nodded conspiratorially, "You're not the only one. Takako and I have been wondering why he only ever brought guys home! She thought he was just young, but I work in the fashion industry and I know guys, and he spends an awful lot of time on his hair." She winked at him, and Shige was barely able to keep it together. He'd only been joking, but to hear that Tatsuya's aunts honestly did debate about whether or not he was gay was too much to bear!

"Well, he does have nice hair," Shige nodded, and then realized what she'd said. "Hey wait a second! I spend a lot of time on my hair too..."

Yuriko grinned and winked at him again. "And seeing as how you're the one he brings home the most, you can see why I was concerned!"

Instead of being upset with her Shige laughed, finding the whole thing to be quite hilarious. "Well, anyway, back to the girlfriend. Her name is Yuki Kojima, and while she is just as addicted to soccer as Tatsuya, and just as good, you'll be happy to know that she's actually really pretty, too. And she has more balls than most guys I know, in fact last year she used to dress up and beat the crap out of any guys who badmouthed the soccer team. It was pretty funny, especially since quite a few people thought it was me." He hadn't known it was her at the time, but Tatsuya had told him the truth after the attacks had stopped.

To say that Yuriko was shocked was an understatement. She was silent for a few moments, not knowing what to say. Her little baby nephew, the only kid in the family, was finally in love!! She was overjoyed! "Oh Shige, thank you for telling me! How long have they been together?" She wanted details.

Shige ran his hand through his hair, scratching his head. "Well see, that's the thing. They're not actually dating, yet, but I know they like each other!" He had a sudden jackpot of an idea, and grinned. "I think he just doesn't know how to approach her. Despite growing up surrounded by women, he gets kind of nervous when talking to girls his age."

Yuriko squealed with excitement. "Awww! That's so adorable! I should help him out."

Shige nodded excitedly, happy she was playing right into his plan. "Would you? I think he'd appreciate the help, though knowing him, he'll probably be embarrassed I told you. In fact, at first he'll probably ignore you and yell at me for telling you."

Yuriko nodded, not doubting that one bit. "That wouldn't surprise me, kid needs to work on taking advice sometimes. Well then, I'm off to go offer my love tips. Wanna come for the show?" She stood up and headed for the door, pausing to look back at him.

Shige shook his head. "No I think I'm going to go and hide instead. Do me a favour and tell him I went out?" She grinned and told him she would before leaving the office and skipping down the stairs. He heard her call for Tatsuya, who was still in the kitchen. Shige crept out of the office, pausing by the top of the staircase to listen. The first words out of Yuriko's mouth were 'Why didn't you tell me you had trouble talking to girls?' and that was all the warning Shige needed.

"SHIGE!!"

Laughing to himself he raced into Tatsuya's bedroom, knowing that was the last place his friend would think to look for him. He heard Tatsuya racing up the stairs, along with Yuriko laughing and following along behind him. Shige hid in Tatsuya's closet, grinning and chuckling as he heard his own bedroom door slam open.

"SHIGE!!"

Soon enough he heard Tatsuya's door open, and Shige braced himself, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before he was found. He figured he would at least have the balls to come out of hiding before being found, so he flung open the closet door and jumped out.

"You called, Tatsu-bon?"

As Tatsuya leveled his best friend with a withering glare, Yuriko unexpectedly cracked up into laughter behind her nephew. "Oi, Shige, you're picking an awfully awkward time to come out of the closet, don't you think?"

Two seconds later and he was on the floor, laughing maniacally, feeding off of Yuriko's own amused shrieks. Tatsuya stood in the middle of the room between his aunt and the person who was supposed to be his best friend, and he wasn't sure who deserved his wrath more. So instead of speaking he simply walked past Yuriko (who was also on her knees, doubled over from laughing so hard) and paused at the doorway.

"I hate you both."

There was silence for a few seconds as the other two stopped laughing. But the second their eyes met, Yuriko broke first and soon their peels of laughter were resonating off the walls and Tatsuya stormed away and down the stairs, not stopping until he was outside.

For the first time he was starting to wonder if he'd made the right choice by asking Shige to stay with his family.

"Are they teasing you again, Taachan?"

Tatsuya spun around, looking at the smiling figure of his mother, who was sitting on a couch on the patio. She'd had a rare burst of energy today and had cooked them all a wonderful dinner, before deciding to retire to the patio to enjoy the unusually warm evening air. He frowned at her and nodded. "Yeah, I should have been expecting it, really."

"What was it about this time?" She patted the cushion next to her, and he obligingly sat down.

"Oh nothing, just Shige being an idiot."

Mariko laughed, patting her son's knee. "You complain about him all the time, dear, but I know you enjoy having him around. He's good for you."

Tatsuya was a little shocked by his mother's words, and though he hated to admit it sometimes, he knew she was right. "I know, he just gets annoying."

"If only you could mix your serious nature with his carefree one and come out with something in between, it would be quite perfect." Mariko mused on the subject, entertained that two boys who were so different in nature could be such good friends. "It's almost like the two of you are one person split in half."

Tatsuya shook his head, not agreeing at all. "You always make everything so much more dramatic than it really is, mom."

Mariko simply laughed, amused at his reaction. "I make everything dramatic? Sweetheart, you are the master when it comes to that, not me." She patted his knee again.

"I am not," Tatsuya crossed his arms, a slight pout on his lips without even realizing it was there.

"You're doing it now." Mariko smiled at her son before reaching out and brushing her fingers over his cheek. "Life is too short to spend so much time being so serious, Tatsuya. You need to laugh more."

He flushed when he felt her touching his cheek, glad that Shige wasn't here to witness this. He did shuffle a little closer to her on the bench without being consciously aware of doing so, though. "Yeah, those two tell me that all the time."

"Well, maybe they say it because they care about you. No one wants to see you go through life unhappy, and I fear these last few years have been harder on you than I thought they would be." Mariko leaned towards her son, resting her head on his shoulder.

Tatsuya stiffened a little at her words, hoping that she wasn't feeling guilty. That was the last thing she needed right now! "Mom, I'm fine, really. Don't start feeling bad about leaving dad."

To his surprise she giggled at his comment. "Oh dear, I don't. You and I both needed to get out then, it's been hard but I know it was the right choice. I'm just worried about you right now. I know I'm better, but are you?"

"Of course I am! Do you really even need to ask that?" He could feel her mouth pull up at the corners into a smile against his shoulder, and he wished he hadn't yelled. He knew it didn't bother her, but it bothered him. He shouldn't be yelling at her right now.

"Oh, my Taachan, you're still so much like him. But I trust that having Shige around will change that this year. He doesn't let you sit around and mope, does he?"

Now he felt like she was teasing him, and even though it was slightly annoying, he didn't mind. It was a nice change from having her lying in bed, so he'd let her say whatever she wanted to.

Meanwhile back inside, Shige was sitting on the kitchen counter, staring out the back window, watching Tatsuya and Mariko. He sensed company and glanced across the room at Yuriko, who was creeping over to him.

"What are you looking at?" She looked out the window and saw her sister and nephew, then looked at Shige with a devilish grin. "He likes to pretend he's so cold, but he really loves his mommy, doesn't he?" They both snickered as they watched the pair for a moment.

"Yeah, it is pretty cute. Sometimes I'm tempted to take a picture during a moment like this and then stick copies of it up at training. It would totally ruin his reputation." Shige hopped off the counter and stood next to Yuriko.

She laughed at the idea. "Not a bad plan! I'll provide the camera." She walked over to the fridge and opened it, taking out two bottles of Sapporo. She walked back over to him and offered him one. "I won't tell them if you don't," she winked at him as he took the bottle from her.

"Awesome! I wish my sisters were more like you, they're all spoiled princesses. You're fun!" Shige grinned as he made the comment to Yuriko, who just smiled in response before throwing an arm around his shoulders.

"Thanks, kid! You're pretty decent too. I'll gladly consider you my new little brother! To new family members!" They clinked their bottles of beer together before both taking sips. Shige couldn't help but smile broadly at her comment – Yuriko really was like the older sister he'd always wished he could have had, instead of the ones he'd been given. Couple that with Mariko's kindness, and he was quite happy to consider himself an honorary member of the Mizuno family.


	5. Training X Making Plans

bNotes/b Oi, wow I really kinda forgot about this, didn't I? I actually have quite a few more chapters written, so I'll be putting those up over the coming few days. Hopefully I'll also start working on this again...

"Alright, you have your positions, so everyone on the field. Starters on the left, substitutes on the right." Souichiro Kirihara stood on the side lines, watching as the senior boys soccer team arranged themselves on the field. Coaching the senior team was a little different from the junior squad, mostly due to the level of talent developed. The younger boys were great, but their senior line were simply amazing.

His eyes strayed over to the goal area on the right side of the field, his gaze resting on Katsuro. Today was the fourth day since the fifteen year old had started working at his job, and the older man was anxious to see how the boy would hold up at practice. A few of his teachers had mentioned that they'd indeed caught him nodding off in class a few times – but they'd overlooked it like he'd asked. He had a good record, after all, and when he'd explained what the boy was going through, they'd agreed to help him out.

But this was what the coach really needed to see – could the boy sustain enough energy to play as brilliantly as usual? In his first month with the senior team, Katsuro had proven to be just as good of a keeper as the older number 1, Yohei Nishibe. Part of him longed to see Katsuro stand out above his older teammate, the same way he had when he'd first joined the school. But he knew he shouldn't be giving in to his temptations to favour the boy above the rest of the team, so he resigned himself to hoping for success from both of them.

He started the practice game with the blow of his whistle, and his well trained gaze penetrated the field, harshly judging every pass and every attempt to block. They had a solid midfield at the senior level, widely regarded to be the best line a high school had developed in the past two decades. Their defense was tough to break down as well, and Nishibe was an above average keeper when it came to perceptiveness on the field. It was a well known fact that there were a few J League clubs who were keeping close eyes on the young keeper, and Kirihara wondered if they would be able to hold on to him for the remainder of the season.

The only problematic area on this squad was the forward line. It wasn't so much that they were untalented – they were simply lazy. They had still managed to score enough goals in the spring tournament to bring them to the regional finals, but he was not about to sit back and allow the forwards to put forth as little effort as possible again. It made him look inferior as a coach.

"Tokei, that was weak! Do I need to bring up members of the junior team to show you how to properly chase down a pass?"

The forwards were the only thing he missed about his junior squad – specifically Seiji Fujishiro. The boy was a phenom, his ability to single-handedly dominate a game extraordinary. He knew the only forward in the Tokyo area that could possibly rival Seiji in terms of pure skill and determination on the field was Shige Fujimura of Sakura Josui. He'd gone to watch one of the school's games in the junior high spring tournament and had been astounded at how much the bleached blonde kid had improved over the course of half a year.

He also knew that Shige was currently living with his own son. He once again dreamed of what it would be like to bring Tatsuya to Musashinomori, and this time he also thought of how strong their squad would be if Shige came as well. He'd heard about the boy's family situation from Mariko, and he had the feeling that Tatsuya would be able to convince him to switch schools. But he knew that there was no way his son would play for him, so he pushed that fantasy out of his head and concentrated again on watching the team that he did have.

If only they could bend the rules, and he could bring Seiji up to play with the senior team, then all his problems would be solved. But that would never be allowed, so for now he would have to deal with the laziness of his current line. He would work them hard this time around in preparation for the fall tournament. He would not be embarrassed again by their lack of effort. Now that he was finally coaching the senior side, he did not intend to be demoted back down to the junior squad.

Over on the right side of the field Katsuro paced back and forth in front of his net, his eyes attuned to the movement of the players on the field. Unlike the junior team, there was a marked difference in skill level between the majority of the starting line and the majority of the substitute players. While the substitutes were all good players, every single one of the starting line were amazing players. Sure, there were a few players on the substitute line who could be playing on the starting line (like himself), but in most cases seniority came into play. He didn't mind having to relinquish a starting spot to someone older than himself, but only because Yohei truly was a fantastic keeper.

Apart from that though, he was also a genuinely nice person. He'd surprised Katsuro by greeting him and immediately launching into a stream of praise for the younger keeper. Katsuro hadn't been sure why he'd done that at the moment, but as time passed he came to understand Yohei's motives better. While he did believe in praising those who were truly worthy of it, he also used it as a tool to gain respect and trust, like any experienced leader would know to do. Yohei had indeed known how good Katsuro was, and instead of competition, he wanted the younger boy on his side. He'd explained to him that while competition did breed success, in their line of work they would both gain more by working together during training. After all, as keepers they were regarded as leaders of their team, and it was Yohei's job to train Katsuro to properly take over that position. There was an element to their position that no one else on the team would understand, and when the pressure of it mounted, the best form of release would be to talk it through with one another.

Katsuro hadn't protested, in fact he'd only come to admire Yohei more as the term progressed. He knew that he had always been a good captain himself, but he was still able to learn from the older boy, both on and off the field.

Suddenly he noticed a shift in the momentum of the game and he forced his wandering thoughts to focus on the game. He watched as the senior members of the team drove the ball towards his end of the field, and he read the play they were setting up with ease.

"Nagoi, cover Midami!" His eyes remained firmly planted on the ball as he issued the orders, not allowing himself the opportunity to check and ensure that his orders were being followed. He watched the ball as it soared to the left, heading exactly where he had thought it would. Though the defender was there and marking the forward, he could tell that the other boy would still wind up with the ball. He came forward, cutting down on the angle from which the forward could shoot. His plan worked and the forward sent off an errant shot, quite wide of the net.

"Midami, that was atrocious! If your shooting does not improve by the end of the match, you will be changing places with Kidira!"

Katsuro smiled to himself as he leaned down to retrieve the ball. Though many found him to be overly strict and too much of a perfectionist, Souichiro Kirihara did have an amazing ability to bring the best out of his players, and that was something that the keeper admired. When he had first joined the school, he remembered being in awe of the fact that a former star of the Japan Soccer League was going to be his coach. He hadn't been sure what to expect from the older man, but he had soon found that he was not a coach to be disrespected. He had been strict in their first week of training, but Katsuro thought it had paid off given the skill of the team. And when he had been granted the opportunity by Kirihara to challenge the starting keeper for his position, he knew that he would do well under the man's tutelage, so long as he continued to work hard.

After forty minutes of playing, the coach called an end to the action for a brief break. The boys congregated in each end, and Katsuro leaned against one end of the net. Being able to engage in the game had been wonderful after a stressful week, and he felt good about his performance. He still had all the energy he needed to play well, despite not getting much sleep this week.

He was surprised out of his thoughts when a bottle bounced against his chest. "You still alive in there?" Akira appeared in front of him, an amused smirk on his face.

Katsuro smiled at him and leaned down to pick up the water bottle. "Of course. Good play out there, by the way. That was a nice set up for that goal."

Akira grinned and shrugged, "Yeah well, that's what I'm here to do! You had quite a few moments of glory too, by the way. Nicely defended net." Akira, like everyone else, had been wondering how Katsuro would fare after his hectic week. He'd been surprised and happy to see that there hadn't appeared to be any difference at all in Katsuro's ability to play.

Katsuro mimicked Akira's actions from before, "Yeah well, that's what I'm here to do." Akira shook his head and laughed, while Katsuro took a long drink of water. It felt good to be back on the field.

Their silent moment of rest was interrupted. "Katsuro! Coach would like a word with you," the messenger was a fifth year named Akido, who played on the defensive line. Katsuro nodded and threw his bottle back to Akira, who watched in curiosity as the back up keeper jogged over to the side line where the coach stood.

"You wanted to see me, coach?" He wasn't sure what to expect – he thought he'd played rather well.

The older man smiled and beckoned him forward. "Excellent play out there, you look like you're holding up your end of the bargain well," he winked at the boy before continuing. "I know you have a lot of work to do in your classes, so you're free to leave practice now."

This had not been expected. "Are you sure that's wise, coach?" Here again was that preferential treatment he didn't want.

"Yes, Katsuro." He motioned for the boy to follow him slightly more off field, so they could have a touch more privacy. "Now don't get used to this by any means. If it weren't for the fact that you have a math test coming up in two days, I would keep you out here for the whole training period. You've done exceptionally well, though, and have proven to me that your schedule is not bogging you down yet. So even though I feel you don't want to, you need to learn to accept these breaks and favours when you can get them. I don't want you to burn yourself out in two weeks." He patted the boy on the shoulder before pushing him slightly in the direction of the school. "Now go and get some studying in before you go to work, and try to get to bed earlier tonight, alright?"

Katsuro nodded respectfully, feeling slightly ashamed of his thoughts of earlier. Of course coach Kirihara wasn't letting him go out of favouritism – the coach had simply studied his schedule and was aware of his weak school subjects. He should be grateful that he had a thoughtful coach. But as he walked away and looked back at his teammates, he longed to stay, and not out of commitment to the team. He just wanted to play.

hr

"Oh come on, Tatsu-bon! Are you really still angry at me for last night?"

Tatsuya had spent the whole of the day glaring daggers at Shige (and avoiding Yuki Kojima) but now they were at soccer practice, and he had nowhere left to hide. He didn't answer Shige, instead he just continued stretching his torso out over his right leg with his face pressed into his thigh. He was not going to forgive Shige easily for this.

At just that moment though, his whole plan was shot down. "Hey guys! Where were you during lunch, Tatsuya? I was looking for you." It was Kojima.

Tatsuya didn't know what to say – he couldn't very well tell her the truth! 'Oh sorry, I was actually hiding from you, because I'm too embarrassed to admit that I kind of like you. See, Shige told my aunt that I have a crush on you last night, and they've both been harassing me since then. Sorry.' No, that would definitely not go over well.

"He had to go home to get his history homework. Someone was a little forgetful this morning!" Shige knew that Tatsuya would not have an answer for Kojima, so he figured that he'd help him out, in order to hopefully get back on his friend's good side.

"Oh shit, that sucks. Hope you got it in time!" Kojima smiled and sat down next to the two, beginning stretches of her own.

Tatsuya sat up only when she leaned over her leg to stretch. He looked at Shige and wanted to give him some sort of indication that he appreciated the save, but he was still too angry at his betrayal in the first place. "Yeah, I managed to get back in time thankfully." So instead he settled for verbally thanking him (in his own way, of course) but still glaring a hole through his head.

Shige understood Tatsuya's response and smiled back at him, winking in his direction. "So, Kojima, I heard a little rumour that you guys are entering a futsal competition. Any truth to that?"

She looked at Shige and grinned. "We are! It's on Saturday, so I still have to finish putting the team together."

"You have seven of you now, how are the others doing?" Tatsuya finally looked over at her, feeling much more comfortable now that they were discussing sports.

She frowned a little before stretching her other leg. "It's alright, but it gets frustrating sometimes. Shizuyo is probably the best one next to me, and she's nowhere near my level, of course. Miyuki, well, she tries hard. That's really all I can say about her. Maiko is actually the biggest surprise, believe it or not."

"The one who joined because she hated you?" Shige looked over at her and grinned.

"Yeah, that's the one. I can tell she's been practising a lot more, because she's gotten a lot better. She has a surprising amount of power behind her kicks." She was pretty surprised about the other girl. In the beginning Maiko had been quite rebellious at practice, always trying to contradict anything she would say. But this year things were different. The other girl actually listened to her and took her advice. If she kept playing through high school, she thought the other girl could actually manage playing on a professional level. She hadn't told Maiko this, of course. She wasn't about to take the chance at puffing up her ego now that they were finally getting along.

"I'm glad to hear that. I know how frustrating it can be to play on a team full of players who aren't at your level, after all." Tatsuya had struggled with that himself for a while.

Kojima looked up at him, smiling slowly. "Yeah, I remember those days. It's a shock to us all that you survived," she grinned and teased him.

"It's only because I came back to the team, don't give Tatsu-bon too much credit," Shige grinned and teased his friend.

Kojima grinned and laughed, "I don't doubt that one bit, Shige." She winked at Tatsuya. They were joined suddenly by Maiko.

"Hey, Yuki! Are you free tonight? Eight o'clock? We can have one of the futsal pitches then, I just called the place now, they had a cancellation." The other girl promptly sat down amidst the little group.

Shige looked at the new addition, a look of surprise on his face. "Wow, someone sure is dedicated."

Maiko looked at him, a slightly predatory smile on her face. "Well of course I am. I don't intend to play in a tournament and bomb it as the worst team there. Have you seen us play? We need a lot of work."

Tatsuya glanced at Kojima, who looked at him and grinned before shrugging her shoulders. "See, I told you, she's my biggest surprise on the team!" The three of them laughed while Maiko narrowed her eyes.

"You were talking about me?"

Kojima smiled at the other girl and nodded. "I was, they asked me how the girls were doing, and I said that you had actually surprised me the most, since you've improved more than anyone else." She figured a little praise in front of her boys wouldn't be too detrimental to her relationship with Maiko.

A smile adorned the other girl's face. "Well, thanks, Yuki! I can't have you beating me too badly, after all."

"So you said we have a pitch tonight at eight, right?" Kojima glanced then between Tatsuya and Shige, a little grin on her lips. "Are you guys busy tonight? Think a few of you would mind coming out and helping me train the girls up?"

Shige didn't wait for Tatsuya to answer. "Sure, we'd love to!"

Tatsuya looked at Shige, a curious expression on his face. "Have you even played futsal?"

"Of course I have! We actually did a lot of futsal training on the Kansai select team, since it helps with footwork."

"Really? That's pretty cool, and it's actually not a bad idea." Kojima could see how Shige had managed to improve his skill so drastically in such a short period of time.

"Then we'd be glad to help you guys out. We can bring Fuwa too, put him in net. I'm sure he'll pick up the style quickly. That way we'll have ten players, so two full teams and no one will have to sit out. Shige and I can each play on a different side." Tatsuya found the idea to be a good one. Besides, it would be a great way to spend a little more time with Kojima and not have it be too awkward after last night.

"Great! Yuki, your team can have Mizuno, and my team can have Shige," Maiko looked at Shige and smiled, "I've been watching a lot of futsal on-line, so I think I'll be pretty good."

Shige grinned at her before glancing at Tatsuya, who was giving him a very curious look. "Sounds like a plan to me! I say we get Fuwa too, to make it more even."

"You get me for what?" The keeper appeared behind Shige, looking around suspiciously.

"You're going to come play futsal with us tonight at eight! We're helping the girls get ready for a futsal tournament this weekend." Shige looked up over his head, smiling up at the other boy. Fuwa glanced at each of them in turn, judging finally that Shige was serious.

"Alright, I will be there." He then walked away, making his way over towards one of the nets.

"Well, that was painless! So, eight tonight, futsal courts? Bring indoor shoes if you have them, no studs," Kojima reminded them, smiling happily at the plans. Though she sometimes still wanted to strangle her, right now she wanted to hug Maiko for making this possible. She'd get to play futsal with Tatsuya for an hour tonight. Forget having dinner and seeing a movie – for Yuki Kojima, this was the perfect setting for a date. It was just a pity that the object of her affection probably only saw it as an opportunity to help out training the rest of the girls. But that was okay – she was patient.


	6. Hospital Visit X Supporting The Girls

"Hey Nanami! How are you feeling today?" Katsuro sat on the edge of the bed, his big hand enveloping his younger sister's much smaller one.

The little girl had a smile on her face that hadn't been there for days as she stared up at her beloved older brother. "Kaachan! Momma said you were coming to visit me today, but I didn't believe her."

Katsuro grinned and squeezed her fingers, "She wouldn't lie to you, Nana."

"I know, but I miss you, Kaachan. I wish you could visit me more," the little lips pouted and Katsuro brushed his other hand across her cheek.

"So do I, I feel sad that you're stuck in here all the time." The fact of the matter was that Nanami was battling leukemia, and the process was tough on her. She had just started chemotherapy last week, and the effects it had on her were startling. Though his mother had told him everything, looking at her and seeing how sick she looked was heartbreaking. She'd always been an energetic and happy kid, always smiling. Apparently today was the first time she'd smiled in a week, and he felt good that he could bring it out of her.

"It's okay, Kaachan. I can't leave, the doctors told me that more bad cells might find me if I leave the hospital without getting better first. So I don't mind staying here all the time, if it means I'll get better faster."

Katsuro smiled, patting her cheek. It was kind of silly, the way the doctors managed to dumb things down enough for kids so they could understand things in their own way. But if Nanami believed there were bad cells floating in the air waiting to attack her, then he'd keep up with the story for her sake. "You're very brave about the whole thing, Nana. I bet a lot of people wouldn't be able to stay in the hospital without complaining."

She smiled again, and squeezed his hand. "I still complain, Kaachan! But I understand why I have to stay." She looked unusually mature and wise when she made that last comment, and it killed him to see that sort of look on her face. She was too young.

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, "You're very smart, Nanami. I'm very proud of you."

Her smile came back again, and when she asked him if he would lie down on the bed beside her so she could take a nap because she was tired, he said yes. How could he say no?

He sat at his desk, pouring over his open math textbook. He needed to get these problems done before leaving for work in an hour, but the answers just weren't coming to him! He wanted to take a nap, just for ten minutes, but he was afraid he might not wake up if he did. He'd been having trouble sleeping since seeing Nanami in the hospital two days ago. While she'd been sleeping he'd been lying beside her, one arm around her, one hand brushing her hair. Without realizing it, he'd pulled his hand away from her head and had been shocked when a clump of hair had come with it. He'd thrown it to the ground beside him before she woke up and saw it, and spent the rest of his visit with tears in his eyes, imagining the rest of it just falling out.

The whole thing just wasn't fair! His sister was the greatest kid in the world, and the fact that she was suffering was tearing him apart. He hadn't told anyone about the incident with her hair, and for the first time he wondered if he maybe should have. It was all he kept seeing every time he shut his eyes, and it was the same nightmare that kept waking him up in the night. But he didn't want to think about it now. He had to finish his work.

Just then he heard a knock at his door and he jumped, startled at the sound. He really needed to get some sleep before he burned himself out. "Come in," he didn't bother asking who it was, he just took a deep breath and turned around to look at the door.

It turned out to be Seiji, standing there with a tray in his hands. "I noticed you didn't come for dinner, and I know you have to work soon, so I managed to get the cafeteria lady, Miss Kazuki, to make up a tray for you. I figured you were probably busy trying to get your work done." He stepped into the room and brought the tray of food over to Katsuro's desk, setting it down over his math work.

Katsuro smiled, grateful that Seiji had thought about him. "Thanks, I meant to go down earlier, but I got caught up."

Seiji sat down on his bed, looking pleased with himself. "Don't worry about it, I'm happy I can help!" He studied his friend for a moment, noting the troubled look that had returned to Katsuro's face. "Hey, are you okay?"

Katsuro looked over at Seiji, not realizing that he'd gotten that worried look on his face again. "I'm fine, really," he glanced at the food, trying to get the image of his sister's hair out of his head. "I'm just worried about the math, I'm having trouble concentrating on it." He picked up the bowl of miso soup, sipping at it to calm his nerves.

Seiji frowned, wishing that he was an expert at math instead of science. "Well, just forget it for now and eat, maybe you just need a little break."

Katsuro forced a smile to his face as he set the bowl back down and picked up his chop sticks. "Yeah, you're probably right. So have I been missing anything exciting while I'm at work?" He knew if he managed to get Seiji talking about something, it would be a nice distraction while he ate. For some reason he found it calming to listen to the younger boy ramble on about things.

Just as he hoped, Seiji did have a funny story to tell, and Katsuro was able to think about something other than his little sister while he ate. Now if only he could get Seiji to sit up beside him all night while he slept, maybe hearing his friend's voice would keep his nightmares away.

"So anyway, do you want me to ask Akira if he can stop by when you get back from work to help you with your math? I know he's a math wizard, I'm sure he won't mind helping you focus on it." Seiji didn't really care what Katsuro answered – he'd ask Akira anyway.

The older boy smiled again, surprised that Seiji was being so thoughtful. It wasn't that he was usually self-centered, it was more that he usually didn't focus on the needs of other people. After all, when a problem arose, Seiji was supposed to be the pleasant distraction, not the solution. "I think I should be okay after work, I've probably just been at it too long."

Seiji had expected that answer, and he was sticking to his earlier decision of telling Akira anyway. "It's okay for us to help you out, you know. You have to worry about your family, so let the rest of us worry about you, okay?" What he'd really wanted to say was 'let me worry about you', but he didn't know if Katsuro would find that a little strange, so he'd used the team instead.

Katsuro looked at Seiji with an expression of surprise, not having expected him to say that. He supposed the comment did strike a chord of truth, though – he did have a hard time letting his peers help him. Perhaps Seiji was right, and he did need more people around. "You're right. Do you want to go take some shots after I finish eating? We might only have ten minutes or so, but I think I need more of a distraction than just eating and going to work."

Seiji grinned and nodded. "Sure! I promise I'll go easy on you too, so you can feel good about your performance." He laughed and felt quite happy that his persistence was appearing to pay off.

hr

"I'm surprised at how well Minako does in net, imagine if she had more training? She'd be a beast!" Shige watched with amazement at how well the first year girl could read plays and stop shots. Some people were suited for the outdoor game, while others were suited for the indoor one. Minako was clearly marked for futsal.

"I know, and the fact that they don't even have an actual futsal coach just really shows how well Kojima knows the game." Tatsuya's eyes had been following her the whole game, impressed with her skillful technique.

"Yeah, kinda reminds me of a certain someone I know, trying to coach a team he was playing for." Shige grinned and nudged his friend with his elbow.

Tatsuya smiled and glanced at Shige. "I think she does much better than I did, though."

"You mean she actually tries to be supportive of her bad players?" Shige couldn't help the comment, though he knew his friend would be annoyed by it.

"Oh shut up! I wasn't that bad, was I?" Tatsuya kept his eyes on Shige for a moment, before looking back at the court. Minako had just made another save, and he had to admit that Shige was right about the girl. Her raw talent was phenomenal.

"You were decent, I'll give you that much." Shige grinned and watched the girls take a counter attack up directly through the middle, due to Kojima's fanciful footwork. "Sometimes you have to wonder if her mother had an affair with a Brazilian, huh?"

Tatsuya laughed and found himself agreeing again. The girl did possess extraordinary skill when it came to dribbling. She quickly passed the ball to Maiko, who took a well aimed shot into the right side of the net – goal!

The boys found themselves jumping up out of their seats – this goal put the girls back ahead in the game, now 3-2. While the other team certainly had more shots on net, their girls made better uses of their attempts.

"Futsal really is exciting, isn't it?" Tatsuya sat back down and kept his eyes on Kojima, who had just finished slapping hands with Minako. "Makes you wonder why it's not more popular."

Shige shrugged, though he did agree. "Who knows? I guess everyone is so stuck on the outdoor game because of it's history. But at least you and I know differently now, huh?" They continued watching the game, which ended with a score of 5-3 for the Josui girls. They had happily made their way down to the outside hall, going out to meet up with the team when they emerged from the locker room.

"Wasn't that awesome? Our first game, and we won!" Kojima was all smiles as she walked down the hall, her bag hanging off her shoulder.

"You guys were brilliant, you looked really good out there." Tatsuya smiled at her, really meaning his words.

"Thanks," she smiled back at him and walked beside him. "Minako was just amazing in net, thanks for helping her to train, Shige."

The blonde shrugged and managed to look quite smug. "No problem! It's all about recognizing the difference between what you have to do in an outdoor game versus a much smaller indoor one. Minako has really good natural instincts for a keeper." Shige nodded at the younger girl, who smiled and found herself blushing just slightly.

"Thanks, guys! I was pretty nervous before the game, actually. But as soon as we stepped out there, it wasn't so bad."

"I'm just glad we beat them! A former friend of mine goes to Minato, so I really wanted to win." Maiko looked quite pleased with herself upon making the statement.

"Really?" Kojima glanced at the other girl, looking a little confused. "Which one was she?"

Maiko grinned triumphantly. "The keeper."

The other girls all nodded and accepted the information, but Shige was a bit more curious. "How do you know her?"

Maiko looked at Shige as she answered him. "We went to the same pre-school, and she and I used to paint together." Everyone was silent, waiting for her to go on, enthralled already by the possibility of her story. "One day though, she dumped the entire container of green paint over my head!"

The girls managed to keep their composure, but Shige and Tatsuya both laughed. "And you've kept a grudge against her ever since?" Shige asked, thoroughly amused.

Maiko glared slightly at him. "Of course! I hate the colour green!"

"Did she even remember you?" Kojima asked, finding herself also amused with the story.

Maiko frowned momentarily. "I don't know. Either she did, and she was too afraid of me to admit it, or she didn't, probably because she was so afraid of me that her memory was suppressing it."

Again the boys laughed and this time Kojima joined them. The other girls (who were just slightly afraid of the aggressive Maiko) managed to keep quiet. Maiko glared at the three of them, before taking a sip from her bottle of water. Soon the group had reached a quiet part of the futsal facility, where they sat down to relax for twenty minutes before needing to get ready for another game.

As Shige sat down near the other girls, Tatsuya sat next to Kojima, who was rubbing her left knee. "Did you hurt it out there?" He asked her, slightly concerned.

She shrugged, not making a big deal of it. "I collided with one of their players, and she kind of kicked me in the knee by accident. I'm fine, really."

"Are you sure? Do you want me to get you some ice or something?"

Kojima smiled at his willingness to help her out, and decided to see how far he was willing to go. "I don't need ice. You can, however, feel free to massage it for me," she grinned and leaned her leg towards him, trying to make it apparent that she was only joking (in case he wasn't going to take her seriously).

To her utter surprise, his hands reached out for her leg, his fingers kneading her skin expertly. "I've had a lot of sore knees after games, so I'm rather good at this." He smiled at her and after a few seconds found himself wondering just what the hell he was doing – how on earth had he managed to start massaging Kojima's knee without freaking out? And what if she had just been joking and her knee was fine? What if she thought he was acting really weird?

She was too shocked at first to say anything in response. Tatsuya was massaging her leg - his fingers were on her leg! She wanted to squeal – but then remembered how annoying she found squealing girls to be. So instead she just settled for having a huge smile on her face. "Thanks, you are really good at this."

And across from them by the other wall, Maiko and Shige sat side by side, their eyes both watching the other two. They could each clearly see what was going on, and appeared to find it quite amusing. Maiko leaned her head towards Shige, whispering in his ear. "Don't they just make you sick?"

Shige grinned and whispered back to her, "Totally! I'm glad someone else sees it." He was pleasantly surprised by Maiko's reaction – figuring that she was the type of girl who would have found the scene to be ridiculously romantic.

"Hey, you two! Cut that out, you have a game to focus on Yuki. And you, Tatsuya, you should be out there scouting our opponents! Not distracting our captain!" Maiko grinned and crossed her arms.

Shige looked at Tatsuya, a look of pure amusement on his face. "She has a point, Tatsubon. Stop distracting Kojima."

Tatsuya had suddenly stopped what he was doing, and a rather fierce blush stole over his face. Just as he was about to jerk his hands away, Kojima's hands shot out, settling over his. "Why don't you two mind your own damn business? He happens to be massaging my injured knee! So if you want me playing, you'll let him do his job." She stuck her tongue out at her friends before leaning back against the wall. "You can keep going, Tatsuya."

Tatsuya wasn't sure what he should do – Kojima obviously wanted him to continue, but could he do so under what were now intensely scrutinizing gazes from the other two? While he hadn't minded Maiko at first, he was now starting to realize that there was something about her that was not sitting well with him.

"Well, as long as his hands stay on your knee, and don't venture any further upwards, I suppose we can allow it." Maiko grinned and winked at the pair before looking at Shige and laughing.

That was it! She was almost exactly like Shige! This thought worried Tatsuya as he glanced at the two, who he only now noticed were sitting very close to one another. That was a union that could not end well.


	7. A Nightmare X First Dates

_i"Kaachan! Chase me!" Nanami laughed and yelled to him, her little feet pounding the ground as she practically flew away from him._

_Katsuro grinned and raced after her. "You'll never get away from me, Nana!"_

"_Yes I will, I can run faster! Watch me!" She sped up, pulling away from him unexpectedly. "Catch me Kaachan! Catch me!"_

_Katsuro raced after her, feeling the warm breeze blowing against him as he ran. It was beautiful out, sunny with blue skies and no clouds – it was a perfect day. He sped up, catching up with his sister. "You better run faster Nana, unless you want me to catch you!"_

_She giggled and stopped suddenly, pulling in the opposite direction. "Ha ha, I fooled you Kaachan!" She began to run the other way, forcing him to stop and change his own direction._

"_That was a good trick, Nana, but you won't fool me again!" He began catching up to her, just behind her now. She shrieked in excitement and tried her trick of stopping suddenly again, but he was ready for her. He grabbed for her and caught her arm and pulled her towards him, his fingers brushing her sides and tickling her. "Caught you!"_

_She squirmed and laughed and tried to pull away, but he held on to her tightly. "No Kaachan, stop tickling me!"_

"_Never!" He was on his knees, holding her close to him. They were both laughing, and now she was trying to fight back, hitting his arms and pushing his face away, shrieking in his ear, trying anything she could think of to make him loosen his grip. It wasn't working, though._

"_Kaachan!" She wailed, flailing her arms around. "You're so mean!" She laughed as soon as she said it, though, and he knew she was just trying a new tactic._

"_That's because I'm not Kaachan!" He yelled in a lowered voice, grabbing her arms and staring her in the face. "I'm a troll and I'm going to eat you, little girl!" He started tickling her again and her shrieks of laughter echoed through the plains of grass, bouncing back at him even though there was nothing for them to bounce off of._

"_No mister troll! Please don't eat me! I'm a good girl!" She had returned to hitting his arms again and shrieking into his ear, but he didn't mind. She was having fun, and that was worth getting a bruise or two on his arm._

"_No way, you're my dinner!" They continued playing, but soon Katsuro felt the wind pick up. Out of nowhere the gusts were strong, and it blew her hair back from her face. As he watched, he could see her eyes turn from happy to sad, and her smile vanished, replaced by a frown._

"_Kaachan! Don't let me go! Don't let them take me away!" She was shrieking again, but this time her voice was panicky and her fingers dug into his arms._

"_Nanami! What's happening?" Before his very eyes, his sister's hair kept growing, getting longer and longer until suddenly all he could see was her hair, blowing in the wind before him. "Nanami!" He felt her fingers lose their grip on him and he grabbed for them, holding them tightly. But to his own panic he felt her fingers turning to air, and soon he was only left holding two long fistfuls of black hair, and he watched as the rest of it flew away from him. Suddenly he was on his feet, running after it, and all he could hear were her echoing shrieks of horror, her wailing voice calling his name, and then it was all gone, and all he had was the hair in his hands -/i_

"NANAMI!"

He awoke in a cold sweat, his heart racing, blood pounding through his veins. He looked around, blinking rapidly in the darkness, confusion muddling his mind until he realized he was in his room, and that he'd had the same nightmare again. Third night in a row. He looked over at his clock – 02:46. He sat up, crossing his legs and holding his head in his hands. This was useless.

He heard a knock at his door then and jumped slightly, his heart nearly lurching up out of his chest and into his throat. His door opened and from around the edge appeared Seiji, a look of concern on his face. "I'm sorry, I heard you yell..."

They stared at each other for a moment, Katsuro still struggling to calm himself down and Seiji unsure of whether he should come in or not. Finally Katsuro was able to speak.

"Sorry, I just had a nightmare," he leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes but opening them wide again after seeing remnants of his dream behind his lids.

Seiji decided to take the admission as permission to enter the room, because he came in finally and closed the door behind him. He could see in the room from the light outside and made his way over to sit beside his friend. "What were you dreaming about?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway.

Katsuro shook his head, cursing himself for admitting that to Seiji. A nightmare. Who had nightmares at fifteen? He hadn't been thinking. "I don't know, I don't remember. Probably just a result of the stress or something." He tried to brush it off, not wanting Seiji to know what was really bothering him.

Seiji was so used to Katsuro always being honest that he knew when the other boy was lying. He was lying now. "Are you sure? You know, if something is bothering you, you can always, well, if you wanted to, you could tell me about it." He felt kind of strange, offering his support to the older boy. Usually Katsuro was the one everyone told their problems to. But he had a feeling that this was something serious.

Katsuro met Seiji's gaze before quickly looking away. He couldn't. How could he possibly expect Seiji to understand? It wasn't his place to worry his friend. Maybe he'd talk to Coach Kirihara about it later. He couldn't bother Seiji with it. "Thanks, Seiji, but I'm okay." He made himself smile and patted his friend's knee.

Seiji wasn't sure if he ought to feel relieved or hurt that Katsuro wouldn't tell him his problem. On one hand, if it was frightening enough to make the other boy wake up screaming, then it had to be bad. But then on the other hand, he'd confided in Katsuro enough over the past two years, so why couldn't Katsuro confide in him for once? "Are you sure?" He didn't want to just let it go.

"I'm sure." Katsuro tried to smile but realized it probably looked fake. "I'm sorry I woke you up, Seiji. Like I said, it's probably just stress. I'll talk to coach about it today, so don't worry. I'll be alright."

Seiji nodded, feeling defeated. "Alright then. But if you change your mind, just let me know. I'm a good listener, I promise!" He tried a smile of his own, though he was still worried.

Katsuro grinned and patted his knee again. "Thanks, Seiji. Now go get back to sleep, I'll be okay." Katsuro watched as Seiji made for the door, looking back at him from the hall with that worried expression on his face. He felt bad about lying to Seiji, but he couldn't bother him. These problems were his, and not his friends'. He'd solve them on his own.

hr

"You going out somewhere?" Shige stood at Tatsuya's bedroom door, a curious look on his face as he watched his friend hold up two different sweaters before his chest and scrutinize his reflection in the mirror. He didn't need to ask – he could already tell what his friend must be doing.

Tatsuya saw him appear in the door and immediately his cheeks reddened in a blush. He threw one sweater down on the floor before pulling the other one over his head. "Uh, I'm meeting up with Kojima."

"Oh really? And what are you guys doing?" Shige knew he could end Tatsuya's torment easily by guessing, but that wouldn't be fun.

"Nothing special, we're uh, just hanging out." Tatsuya wasn't sure why he couldn't tell Shige. He was a horrible liar, especially when it was his best friend he was lying to.

Shige could see right through him. "Oh please! You're going on a date with her, aren't you? Dinner? Movie? Romantic walk by the harbour?" Shige could go on for hours teasing Tatsuya.

The other boy flushed a deeper shade of red and glared at his friend. "It's not a date! We're actually going to watch a soccer game, her cousin plays for the university team and she wanted to see him play and have some company and she just asked me. It's nothing more than that!"

This was even better than he'd imagined – Kojima was going to introduce him to someone in her family! "Wow, you guys are lame. Your first date, and you're going to watch university soccer? I hope you're at least taking her out for dinner after!"

"It's not a date!" He wished it was, though.

"Wait until Yuriko hears about this. She'll be awfully bothered and insulted that you didn't choose to consult her first for her expertise." Shige was definitely going to tell her when she got back.

Tatsuya's face blanked. "Don't tell her, please! I'll do anything!" He knew that was a bad offer to give, but he couldn't take more teasing from his aunt.

Shige grinned and walked into the room. "Are you sure you want to offer that?"

Tatsuya frowned and nodded. "Even though I shouldn't have to, I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you from blabbing to my aunt about this."

Shige stood beside his friend, a devilish grin on his face. "Alright, I'll accept that offer. I'll keep my mouth shut about this for now. Just remember, though, that when the day comes, you have to do whatever I ask you to. Don't forget that."

Tatsuya glared at his friend and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, but the agreement is off if she finds out."

Shige nodded. "Alright, that's fair. And by the way, you should wear the other sweater, it makes you look like more of a man." He managed to dodge out of the way just in time, as Tatsuya's fist just missed his shoulder. "Maybe if you're lucky you'll get some action, maybe that will get rid of some of your aggressive energy!"

Tatsuya's blush came back when Shige made the comment. "Shut up Shige!"

Shige grinned and laughed as he made his way out of the room. "Oh stop being embarrassed! Kojima would be good for your first time. After all, one of you needs to have a set of balls!" He winked at his friend before skipping away from the door lest Tatsuya throw something at him. He hid in his room with the door cracked open, waiting for his friend to leave. When he finally heard footsteps going down the hall he peaked out of his door and watched as Tatsuya walked down the stairs and headed for the door.

Shige couldn't help but grin – Tatsuya had changed his sweater.

An hour later found Shige sitting on the couch, bored out of his mind. This was the first time since he'd moved in with the Mizuno family that he was in the house alone. Well, not totally alone, since Mariko was in bed. But with Tatsuya out on a date, and Yuriko teaching a class at school, the only one he had for company was Holmes, and he'd already taken the dog on a long walk.

He found himself thinking about Tatsuya, wondering how the evening was going. Watching him and Kojima trying to hook up was almost getting painful for him. If those two didn't kiss tonight, Shige would have to resort to drastic measures. Then again, if they did start dating, Shige figured that he would be spending even more nights like this – by himself. He wasn't exactly looking forward to that.

So he got out of bed and walked to the kitchen, his mind running actively through his options. He needed someone else to hang out with tonight. While he was on friendly terms with the guys on the team, he wasn't exactly on the kind of terms where he felt comfortable calling them up. He'd always been a bit of a loner, which was probably why he got along so well with Tatsuya. Besides, he wasn't sure if he even really liked any of them enough to want to hang out with them outside of school. He found them a little on the boring side.

Suddenly a light went off in his head and he knew exactly who he could call. If Tatsuya was going to abandon him to go on a date, then he could do the exact same thing! He raced back to his room and grabbed his cell phone (his father had actually bought it for him as a present after being selected for the Japanese representative squad) and opened the address book, searching for the number.

He laid down on his bed as he listened to it ring, hoping she wouldn't be busy tonight.

She picked up after three rings. "Maiko speaking!"

He grinned as he heard her answer. "Hey, it's Shige!"

"Shige! What a pleasant surprise," she sounded genuinely happy that he'd called, and he was relieved.

"Yeah, well Tatsuya abandoned me for the night to go on a date with Kojima, so I was looking for some company and thought I'd see what you were up to."

She was silent for a moment before answering. "Really? Well, I do have plans with some of the girls." Another moment of silence filled the conversation and just as he was about to tell her that he'd call her some other time, she spoke up. "But those can be cancelled. You're much more interesting, after all."

A relieved smile broke out on his face – he'd been worried for a brief moment that he'd have to come up with another plan. "Wonderful! I'll be over at your place in about ten minutes then?" She didn't live too far from them, after all.

"Ten minutes sounds great, see you soon." She hung up, and Shige laid on his bed for a moment, feeling smug. He'd really hit it off with Maiko on the weekend, and had actually been thinking about her during the day. Getting to spend more time with her would be fantastic. He got up and grabbed a light jacket from his closet, leaving his room and heading downstairs. He stopped at the door to Mariko's room, looking in and wondering if he ought to tell her he was going out. After all, with him gone, she'd be by herself.

"Shige?" She apparently wasn't asleep.

"Oh, uh sorry! I thought you were sleeping." He smiled sheepishly and stood by the door.

"No, just resting. Are you going out?" She sat up in bed and turned on her lamp, and he could see the beads of sweat on her forehead. Maybe he shouldn't leave her alone.

"Uh yeah! Tatsuya and I both have dates tonight, he already left for his." He hoped she wouldn't mention anything to her sister.

Mariko smiled lovingly and took a sip of water. "I'm so happy to hear that! Is my Taachan out with that girl you told my sister about?"

Shige grinned and nodded. "Yeah, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention it to her. He's in my debt as long as she doesn't find out."

Mariko laughed and smiled at him. "I'll keep quiet about it then, dear. Who are you going out with?" She asked him with such genuine interest that he couldn't help but smile and launch into a description.

"It's another girl who plays soccer with Kojima, Tatsuya's girlfriend. Her name's Maiko, we really hit it off well this weekend when we went to watch them play in the futsal tournament."

Mariko smiled that knowing mother smile, and took another sip of water. "I'm sure she's a lovely girl, Shige. Have a good time tonight, dear!"

Shige wasn't sure what came over him but suddenly he found himself crossing the room and kneeling by her bedside. "Can I get you anything before I go?" Mariko smiled and told him no, that she was fine. He hesitated for a moment, then gave in to his desires and leaned down to give her a hug.

"Thank you, Mariko, for letting me stay with you guys." He felt a little embarrassed after saying it, not sure what had possessed him to do it. But it didn't matter though, because he did mean it.

Mariko almost looked as though she was about to cry, but managed to keep her composure. "We're all glad to have you, Shige, me especially. I know you're taking good care of my Taachan, I can see how happy he is to have you around."

"Really? I couldn't tell, because he yells at me half the time," Shige joked.

Mariko just kept smiling. "A mother always knows, Shige. Besides, I always wished that I could have given Tatsuya a brother. Now he has one." She took hold of his hand, gently squeezing it. "Thank you for that."

Shige didn't respond, having no idea what you were supposed to say to something like that. Part of him wanted to sit down and tell her how he was grateful to her for being the mother that he had always wanted, for letting him be part of a real family, not the disjointed and dysfunctional one he'd been born into. But instead all he could do was shrug. He had a feeling that she would understand.

"I had no idea they had such a strong team," Tatsuya walked beside his companion, and she grinned.

"No kidding, huh? Sometimes they look good enough to compete in the J League." Yuki was pleased that he had enjoyed the game so much. She'd been a little nervous about inviting him, wondering if he would find it weird. Luckily though she had nerves of steel (at least on the outside) and had been able to ask him without sounding too awkward (though on the inside she'd been sick with nervous anxiety). He'd agreed, though, and now they were walking out of the stadium together.

Tatsuya nodded, and suddenly they found themselves standing in the parking lot. Shige's comments came back to him from earlier. Should he offer to take her out for dinner somewhere? Was she expecting it? "Kojima?"

She looked at him when she heard the hesitation in his voice. "Yeah?" She had been trying to decide if she ought to suggest continuing the night somehow, but wasn't sure if he would want to.

"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to, uh, maybe go have something to eat? I'm kind of hungry and I'm sure everyone at my place has already had dinner by now. If you're busy that's fine, just thought I'd ask." He bit his lip – why couldn't he ever suggest something to her and not sound nervous?

Yuki smiled and reached out suddenly, taking hold of his hand. "I'd love to." She knew it was a gamble, but something in her had finally snapped at his offer. He had to be interested in her!

When she grabbed his hand he looked at it in shock for a moment, wondering if this was actually really happening. They were standing together in the rapidly darkening evening, and she was holding his hand and smiling. Did this make it a date? "Great." He stared back at her, looking at her face and wishing that he had the nerves to just lean over and kiss her. He didn't, though.

Yuki gave him one last smile before turning suddenly and tugging on his hand. "So, where do you want to go?" She didn't really care where they went to eat, she just didn't want to stand in the parking lot any longer in case her cousin came out, or she ran into her aunt and uncle.

Tatsuya was jolted out of his thoughts by her tugging on his hand, and he quickly moved to follow her. "Uh, I don't know. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"Can't really think of a place. Wanna just walk around and see what we find?" She glanced up at him and couldn't help but smile. She was going out for dinner with Tatsuya!

"That sounds good," he responded and glanced back at her, a smile springing to his lips when he noticed how big of a smile she had on. Shige hadn't been kidding – she really did like him a lot. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, and suddenly he didn't think he'd mind listening to Yuriko and Shige harass him if it meant he got to walk around holding Kojima's hand.


	8. The Morning After X 2

Seven o'clock found Seiji awake and already dressed, on his way to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. After leaving Katsuro he'd been lying awake for the remainder of the night, too worried to fall asleep. It was so unlike the older boy, to have nightmares! Seiji wasn't sure why he was so unnerved – stress really did explain everything, after all. But for some unshakeable reason he couldn't ignore his concern. Maybe it was only child syndrome – Katsuro was the closest thing to a brother he had, and he kept trying to tell himself that it was only natural for him to worry about losing him.

The halls were rather quiet at the beginning of the hour, as most of the students were only just dragging themselves out of bed. Seiji wondered if he'd be the first person in the cafeteria, but as it turned out he wasn't. There was Akira, already seated with food and an open book in front of him. Seiji got in line behind a younger student he didn't recognize and contemplated what he was going to have for breakfast. There was no training today, so he was free to eat a little worse than usual.

Having decided that, he ordered a more typically American style of breakfast (with toast and sausages and eggs) instead of the usual Japanese breakfast Katsuro always used to insist he eat (because eating the greasy meat and salty eggs would clog his arteries and he wouldn't live as long). He took his tray and quickly went to join Akira, sitting opposite the boy and staring at him until Akira acknowledged him.

"Seiji, you're up early. I don't see Katsuro anywhere, so I assume you got up all by yourself?" Akira grinned and pushed his book to the side.

Seiji frowned and shot him an expression that said that he wasn't amused. "I couldn't sleep last night."

"That's why you shouldn't drink Coke before going to bed, dumb ass."

"I didn't!" i_Geez, a guy makes that mistake at a training camp once and it haunts him for life!/i_ "I started out sleeping just fine. But then I got woken up in the middle of the night." He knew that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to tell Akira everything, but he'd told the other boy enough already that he figured maybe Katsuro wouldn't mind if he told him this too. Akira was pretty good when it came to hiding what he knew from people.

Akira studied Seiji's face, noting the distress. So, something was really bothering the younger boy then? He had a feeling that he already knew the subject of the worry, but he'd ask anyway and hope it was something else. "What woke you up?"

Seiji leaned a little closer to him over the table, as though he considered what he was about to say to be a secret. "Katsuro. He was yelling in his sleep last night, I think he had a nightmare." He sat back, looking guilty. There. He'd divulged the secret, and he hoped Akira would be smart enough to not say anything about it to Katsuro.

Akira frowned at the revelation. That was strange behaviour for the keeper. "Did he tell you what it was about?"

Seiji shook his head, looking miserable. "He wouldn't. I don't think he wants to bother me with his problems, you know how he likes to keep everything to himself. But I want him to tell me! He's always there for everyone else, you know? He needs someone there to listen to him too." Seiji felt kind of stupid saying it out loud like that, but he felt as though he needed to get it off his chest.

Akira studied the younger boy for a moment, feeling a little worried about him. Obviously Seiji was really bothered, because he hadn't even touched his food yet, instead needing to talk about their friend first. "Look, Seiji, you can't make someone tell you their problems. If he doesn't want to tell you, don't try and force it. And stop worrying about him so much. It's not good for you."

Seiji looked affronted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Akira grinned and pointed at his plate. "I know how much you love sausages, and you haven't touched them yet. When something gets in between you and your food, I know it's really serious for you. It's fine that you're worried about him, but he'll be okay. He's probably just really stressed out about school, and probably worried to death about his sister. I'd probably be having nightmares too if I was dealing with everything he's dealing with."

Seiji frowned and looked slightly embarrassed. "You've got a point, I guess. I just can't help but worry, I don't know why."

Akira gave him an amused smirk. "It's because this whole thing is throwing your usual schedule off. You're the one waking up early now, while he's the one sleeping in. You can't slack off anymore."

Seiji smiled a little. Maybe that was a tiny little part of it, but he knew it was more serious than that. "I'm just worried about him not being able to cope with everything. I don't want him to have to leave school."

Akira smiled, understanding a little better now even though Seiji had barely said anything. "I understand, Seiji. I should have known, he's more like an older brother to you than just a friend. You're worried about losing him; that's really cute." He couldn't help but get a last little dig in at him.

Seiji frowned before picking up a sausage and shoving it in his mouth, whole. He chewed for a moment before speaking (though his mouth was still half full). "It's not cute! Don't make fun of me." He picked up a piece of toast and took a bite out of it. Now that he'd gotten his concern off his chest, his appetite had hit him full force.

Akira grinned and sat back in his chair. "Couldn't help it, you really left yourself open for it. Honestly, though, it is a sign of true friendship and loyalty for you to be so worried. But you don't have to be, I'm sure he tells you that."

"A few times a day," Seiji admitted, still with a full mouth.

"See? If you're that worried, talk to coach Kirihara, I know he's helping him out. Maybe he'll be able to talk to Katsuro and figure out if something more serious is bothering him." Akira pulled his book back in front of him and took a sip of his orange juice.

Seiji didn't respond, instead he sat quietly, eating and considering what Akira had said. Maybe he should talk to Kirihara. He'd never quite had the bond with the older man that Katsuro had shared, but he hadn't exactly been as intimidated by him as everyone else had been either.

Forty minutes later, Seiji was just in the middle of trying to balance a tray full of food and open the door to Katsuro's room when it opened itself. Well, not by itself really, because Katsuro was standing there behind it, a look of slight shock on his face when he saw Seiji with the food.

"Seiji, you didn't have to bring me breakfast again." The older boy frowned a little. Was Seiji really that worried about him?

Seiji broke out in a wide grin, pushing past his friend into the room. "Oh, it's okay! I was awake early this morning, even without having to set an alarm! I think this early morning thing is starting to rub off on me." He set the tray down on the table and sat down on Katsuro's bed. "I sat with Akira and had a big breakfast, and since you hadn't shown up yet I thought I'd bring you some food. Save you time, you know. Breakfast is very important after all!"

Katsuro couldn't help but grin – this new responsible Seiji was such a change, but he was also still just as entertaining as irresponsible Seiji had been. "Well thank you. I just don't want you to inconvenience yourself, that's all." He went over to his desk, sitting down and looking over the food. Natto, miso soup, a sweet bun, an apple, and milk. At least Seiji wasn't trying to feed him bacon and sausages.

"Oh, helping you out isn't an inconvenience! Even if it was, you probably inconvenienced yourself enough times over the past three years with me. This is the least I could do to make up for it now." He grinned and leaned back against the wall. He wanted to bring up the night before, but so far things were so light and cheery this morning that he worried about bothering Katsuro. Still, he wanted to know if his friend had managed to get back to sleep last night, and if so, if he'd been able to sleep well.

Katsuro started eating, but kept his eyes on his friend. Though Seiji was still smiling, he did look a little bothered. He knew the younger boy well enough to understand his facial expressions, after all. "Something on your mind, Seiji?"

Not having expected the question, Seiji looked over at him, wondering if he really did look bothered enough for Katsuro to tell. He frowned a little, feeling guilty now even though he hadn't said anything yet. He wanted to deny it and launch into some funny story about training to keep Katsuro entertained while he ate, but he couldn't. "Well, I don't really want to bring it up again, but did you manage to get back to sleep last night?"

Katsuro had been expecting the question, and was surprised it had taken Seiji this long to bring it up. "I did, I actually managed to sleep pretty well. I know you're worried about me, Seiji, but you don't have to be. I'm okay."

Seiji smiled, wishing he could accept that. "I know, Akira was telling me I worry about you too much, actually."

Katsuro smiled and sipped at his soup. "You should listen to him, Seiji. He's right." Seiji frowned and was about to speak up when the older boy cut him off. "However, I do really appreciate your concern. It's nice to know that someone out there really cares about you." Katsuro went back to eating then, and Seiji couldn't help but smile. Even if everyone told him to stop worrying, he still would. As long as Katsuro took some level of comfort from it, that was really all that mattered.

hr

"So how did it go last night with you and Kojima? Please tell me you at least kissed her, right?" Shige ventured into the kitchen, not yet dressed and running fingers through his hair. By the time he'd gotten in last night Tatsuya had already been back and in bed. He wasn't sure if it was because his friend had been tired, or if it was because the date had gone badly.

Tatsuya looked up from his breakfast, his eyes taking in his friend and frowning. "Where did you go last night?" He'd been surprised to come home and find the house empty except for his mother.

"Oh, I was just out and about, nothing too exciting." He settled down onto the chair across from Tatsuya, putting his feet up on another chair. When all he got in response was a glare, he grinned. "Alright fine, I figured if you could go out on a date, then so could I."

Tatsuya looked surprised, as though that had been the last thing he'd expected to hear. "You had a date? With who?"

Shige put his hands behind his head and linked his fingers together, a smug smirk on his lips. "Maiko."

Tatsuya had taken a mouthful of orange juice and nearly spit it out upon hearing the name. "You're joking, right?" He hoped Shige was joking.

"Nope, we went out. She even ditched her friends for me, Tatsu-bon. I think she likes me," after last night he had no doubt that she liked him.

"Really? Why does that idea really unnerve me?"

"Oh come on! She's not that bad. She's hot, and she's quite funny. She also doesn't take shit from anyone-"

"She's like a female version of you, that's what's wrong!" Tatsuya couldn't keep it in any longer.

Shige laughed at the comment. "You say that like it's a bad thing, Tatsu-bon. Don't you like me?"

Tatsuya glared at him and crossed his arms over his chest. "That has nothing to do with anything! One of you is all the world needs."

Shige didn't answer right away, instead choosing to watch his friend with an amused expression. While he hadn't been expecting Tatsuya to be overjoyed at the news of his date, he was a little confused as to why he was so bothered by it. But that wasn't the most important thing on his mind at the moment. "So you never answered my question. How was your date with Kojima? Are you acting all bothered right now because it went bad?"

Tatsuya shot him another glare. "No it didn't go bad! It actually went really well." In reality when he'd made it home last night, he'd chosen to not wait up for Shige because he hadn't wanted to tell him about it yet. He wasn't sure if Shige would tease him about it, and he'd wanted to go to sleep happy.

"You kissed her, right?" Shige's smirk softened into a smile. He'd been fairly certain last night that the date was going to go alright. He'd been reading the flirting going on between the two for the past few weeks and was pleased that it finally seemed to be turning into something more.

Tatsuya picked up his glass of orange juice and took a sip from it, debating how much he wanted to tell Shige. Maybe he'd just take it bit by bit. "I followed your advice and took her out for dinner after the game."

Shige smiled and had a feeling that he'd have to hear the whole story before getting any answers he was truly interested in. "See, I told you it was a good idea. Where did you guys go?"

"We found an Italian place near the university. It was really nice, actually."

Shige refrained from making the teasing comments he wanted to make, knowing that they would make Tatsuya shut off and not tell him anything else. It was tough, but his curiosity won out. "Did you walk her home afterwards?" He could, however, try to speed things up.

Tatsuya nodded and took another sip of his drink. It looked like Shige was actually trying to listen seriously about this, which was so uncharacteristic of him. Maybe he would tell him everything, then. "I did, she held my hand the whole way there too. Actually as soon as I asked her to dinner she grabbed it." He felt kind of lame admitting it, but in the end it was important to him, and he hoped Shige would realize that.

"That's cute," was all that Shige trusted himself to say at the moment. What he really wanted to do was make retching noises and pretend to be sick. But he felt that he ought to respect what was obviously important to his friend at the moment. He'd have plenty of time to make fun of his new relationship over the coming weeks.

"So we walked all the way back to her house, and to answer your question, yes we did kiss."

"On the cheek or the lips?" Shige could only contain so much before he had to make a joke of some sort.

Normally Tatsuya would have glared at him for the comment, but the memory of last night kept him from doing that. "Well, both."

"Let me guess," Shige sat up then, leaning over the table, "you kissed her on the cheek, and then she grabbed you and kissed you on the lips before suddenly running into her house. Am I right?" The look on his friend's face was all the confirmation he needed to know that he was right. "You two are totally something out of a movie."

Tatsuya ignored the comment. He couldn't be mad at Shige – he'd tried to be serious about it, after all. This was just the way he normally was. "So how did your date go with Maiko?" He decided to change the topic.

Shige grinned and shrugged. "It went very well, thanks for asking." He knew Tatsuya had only asked in order to get the focus off of him.

"And did you kiss her?" Tatsuya figured that if Shige could ask him, then he could pay his friend the same back.

"Of course. Apparently she's had a thing for me since last year, did you know that? She never said anything though because I hung around Kojima too much! But since they're friends now, she decided that she could talk to me. Girls are so weird about those things."

Tatsuya grinned and had to agree. "Yeah well, I guess it's a good thing now that they're kind of friends."

Shige nodded. "No kidding. Hey, we should go on a double date some time! I'm sure the girls would love it." He actually didn't think that was true – while he knew that he and Maiko would have fun, he felt that Tatsuya and Kojima would probably not enjoy it quite as much. But he also knew that they were both too nice to turn down the offer.

Tatsuya frowned, unsure about the idea at first. This had the possibly to go very badly. "Uh, we'll see, it might be a good idea."

Shige grinned and decided that as soon as he saw Maiko this morning, he would make the suggestion and have her set something up. She was much better at planning things out than he was. "Wonderful, it's a date, then!"


End file.
